His adviser, Abdullah Othman Abdurrahim, announced his death in a Facebook post before specifying that he had been assassinated by four armed men. They “stormed Seif al-Islam Gaddafi’s residence after disabling the surveillance cameras, then executed him,” the channel wrote on X, citing his remarks.
“The doctor Seif al-Islam has fallen as a martyr,” his cousin Hamid Gaddafi told the Libya al-Ahrar channel by phone. “We have no other information,” he added.
According to several media reports, he was killed south of the city of Zenten, in western Libya. Long presented as his father’s potential successor, Seif al-Islam, 53, had cultivated an image as a moderate and a reformer. That reputation collapsed when he threatened bloodshed at the start of the uprising.
Wanted by the ICC for crimes against humanity, he was arrested in southern Libya. Long held in Zenten, he was sentenced to death in 2015 following a summary trial before later benefiting from an amnesty.
Until the announcement of his death, his whereabouts were unknown. In 2021, he submitted his candidacy for the presidential election, banking on the support of nostalgics of the former regime. The election ultimately did not take place.
For expert Emad Badi, the death of Seif al-Islam Gaddafi is “likely to turn him into a martyr in the eyes of a significant segment of the population, while altering electoral balances by removing a major obstacle to the presidential election.” “His candidacy and chances of success had constituted a central point of controversy,” he explained on X.
Former Gaddafi regime spokesman Moussa Ibrahim denounced a “treacherous” act, claiming he had spoken to him two days earlier. “He wanted a united and sovereign Libya, safe for all its inhabitants. They have assassinated hope and the future, and sown hatred and resentment,” he wrote on X.
Since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi, Libya has struggled to regain stability and unity. Two executives are competing for power: the Government of National Unity (GNU) based in Tripoli, led by Abdelhamid Dbeibah and recognized by the UN, and an executive in Benghazi in the east, controlled by Marshal Haftar and his sons, who have expanded their military presence in the south of the country.
Editorial team/le7tv