A Libyan court has acquitted Al-Saadi Gaddafi, son of late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, of murder charges pressed against him on the killing of the former Al-Ittihad player and coach Bashir Al-Riyani.
Meanwhile Libya’s Attorney General Office addressed its Egyptian counterpart to halt the arbitrary prosecution of Libyan officials affiliated with the toppled Gaddafi regime.
Saadi's defense Lawyer Mabrouka al-Tawergi said in statements carried by local media that the Tripoli Court of Appeal had acquitted her client in the case No. 2005-87 of the killing of Riyani “based on witness testimony.”
Saadi, who has been detained in al-Hadaba prison in Tripoli since March 2014, was cleared of the murder charge amid the return of tensions to Libya’s South.
Libya's Government of National Accord headed by Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj announced the launching of a military operation code-named Asifat Al-Wattan (The Nation's Storm), aiming to eliminate ISIS remnants near Misurata, Libya's third largest city.
Starting Monday, the military operation will target ISIS militiamen and hideouts from a 60km checkpoint east of Misrata to the outskirts of Bani Walid, Tarhuna, Khoms and Zliten.
A security source close to the special “Deterrent Force” battalion told Asharq Al-Awsat that Saadi remains in prison to complete his trial on charges of "murder, torture and abuse of power during his father’s reign.”
It is worth mentioning that al-Hadaba is considered one of the most notorious prisons in Libya. It is run by Khaled al-Sharif, the security officer in the Libyan Fighting Group.
Led by Abdel Hakim Belhadj, the group explicitly labels itself as anti-Gaddafi.
Al-Hadaba is home to several thousand prisoners and detainees, most of whom are prominent figures in the former Gaddafi regime.
