12 Years After Gaddafi’s Death, What Do We Know about His Family?

An archive photo of Gadhafi, his wife Safiya and his sons Saif Al-Arab, Khamis and Al-Muatasem (Getty images)
An archive photo of Gadhafi, his wife Safiya and his sons Saif Al-Arab, Khamis and Al-Muatasem (Getty images)
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12 Years After Gaddafi’s Death, What Do We Know about His Family?

An archive photo of Gadhafi, his wife Safiya and his sons Saif Al-Arab, Khamis and Al-Muatasem (Getty images)
An archive photo of Gadhafi, his wife Safiya and his sons Saif Al-Arab, Khamis and Al-Muatasem (Getty images)

What happened to the family of the man, who ruled Libya with an iron fist for more than four consecutive decades? During the 12 years that followed the overthrow of the regime of the late President Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, his family did not meet even once, and his seven children were separated, either by death, or imprisonment, or voluntary exile.

Three of Gaddafi’s sons, namely Al-Muatasem, Saif Al-Arab and Khamis, were killed during the “uprising” that toppled the rule, while two other, Saif Al-Islam and Al-Saadi, were put on trial, before they received pardon from the Libyan authorities. The latter left for Türkiye, according to some reports.

Between pursuit and arrest

Khamis Gaddafi, who was commanding the 32nd Brigade in the city of Zliten, was killed during a NATO air strike in August 2011. Earlier the same year, a similar attack led to the death of Saif al-Arab, Gaddafi’s youngest son, after his house in Tripoli’s upscale Gharghur neighborhood was targeted. He was 29 years-old.

Contrary to his siblings, Saif al-Arab did not assume any leadership role, distanced himself from politics and avoided appearing in public events.

Muatasem, the fourth son of Gaddafi, who worked as a Libyan National Security Advisor, was killed along with his father, in the city of Sirte.

Gaddafi’s daughter, Aisha, disappeared from sight along with her brother Muhammad, the late Libyan leader’s eldest son from his first wife. They are reportedly residing in the Sultanate of Oman. Last week, the UN Security Council Sanctions Committee agreed to remove Aisha’s name from the travel ban lists, while keeping her on the asset freeze sanctions lists.

Gaddafi’s widow, Safiya Ferkash, currently lives in Cairo. Last year, she appealed a decision by a Malta court ordering the Bank of Valletta to return to Libya some 95 million euros ($100 million) deposited by Gaddafi’s late son Muatassem.

Ferkash and her lawyers said in their appeal that the courts lacked jurisdiction and could not decide the case over the funds.

As for Hannibal Gaddafi, he fled Libya to Syria, where he was kidnapped and transferred to a prison cell in Lebanon. Several campaigns and diplomatic efforts have so far failed to secure his release.

Saif al-Islam and the dream of returning to power

Saif al-Islam, the second son of Gaddafi, is the only family member who is still seeking to return to power. He reportedly moves between the cities of the southern region of Libya, hoping that the circumstances will allow him to run in the elections. His brother, Al-Saadi, currently lives in Türkiye and has no declared political activity.

Saif al-Islam was arrested in November 2011 by an armed brigade, while he was trying to flee outside Libya towards Niger. A Libyan court in Tripoli issued a death sentence against him in absentia, after accusing him of “suppressing the Libyan revolution.” Amnesty International had previously called on the Libyan authorities to hand over Saif al-Islam and former intelligence director Abdullah al-Senussi to the International Criminal Court, on charges of “committing crimes against humanity.”

In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, Khaled Al-Zaidi, Saif Al-Islam’s attorney, said that the man’s “chances are great” in the upcoming presidential elections.

Saif al-Islam has spent the past 12 years in self-imposed exile inside the country. He has not spoken to Libyans directly since his last controversial speech, which he delivered during the NATO-backed “revolution” in February 2011. However, Al-Zaidi confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat that his client will address the people directly when the final lists for the presidential elections are announced.

“In this case, he will go out and speak... When his electoral candidacy is accepted, he will go out to the Libyans and talk about the future of the country... Choosing the right timing is important,” he stated.

Although those close to Saif al-Islam claim that he enjoys complete freedom of movement, he has never been seen in the eastern and western regions.

Al-Zaidi said in this regard: “He has contacts with all the leaders,” pointing out that his client was based in Libya, not just the south.

The lawyer also rejects the reports that claimed that Saif al-Islam’s candidacy for the elections was a collective decision by the family.

He explained: “Talk about the family’s mandate is incorrect. It is not the family’s decision... This is the people’s choice.”

Hannibal Gaddafi

According to observers, Saif al-Islam is also working for the release of his younger brother, Hannibal, who is currently detained in Lebanon.

According to information obtained by Asharq Al-Awsat, Saif’s lawyer submitted a request to the Syrian Public Prosecutor to reopen the investigation into the kidnapping of Hannibal from Syrian territory, and his subsequent transfer to Lebanon.

Al-Zaidi explained to Asharq Al-Awsat that he recently visited Syria and filed a complaint against Hassan Yaqoub, who is accused of kidnapping Hannibal from the country in 2018, on the grounds that he is a “political refugee and was under the protection of the Syrian authorities.”

In this regard, he said: “He was kidnapped in Syria, and transferred against his will and by all means of torture to Lebanon.”

In his complaint over what he described as crimes of kidnapping, torture, and the forced disappearance of Hannibal Gaddafi, Saif al-Islam - represented by his lawyer - said that armed elements affiliated with Hassan Mohammad Yaqoub, a former Lebanese deputy, abducted Hannibal inside Syrian territory on December 11, 2015.

He also pointed to “torture, violence, and death threats against him,” citing a video showing mutilation and bruises on his face and body.

The 12-page lawsuit, a copy of which was obtained by Asharq Al-Awsat, called on the Syrian Attorney General to intervene urgently and address all concerned parties in order to release Hannibal, who was “arbitrarily” detained by the Lebanese state authorities, and to hold Lebanon legally responsible for his personal safety.

In a press conference held last August, on the occasion of the 45th anniversary of the absence of Imam Musa al-Sadr, Yaqoub accused Gaddafi and his supporters of being involved “in the kidnapping of his father.”

Yaqoub’s father is Sheikh Muhammad Yaqoub, one of Imam Musa al-Sadr's companions, who was last seen in Libya on August 31, 1978, after he arrived there by official invitation. The former deputy did not respond to Asharq Al-Awsat’s attempt to contact him.

According to Bassam Mawlawi, the Lebanese Minister of the Interior, Hannibal received medical care in a hospital in Lebanon after he went on a hunger strike to protest his imprisonment.

Hannibal had always caused trouble during his father’s rule. In 2008, he stirred a diplomatic crisis, which led to Libya’s severance of relations with Switzerland, after being accused and his wife, Aline, of ill-treating a Tunisian maid and a Moroccan servant during their stay in Geneva.

Al-Saadi, the football player

When the Libyan House of Representatives approved presidential and national Assembly election laws, Al-Saadi Gaddafi said on X that Libya “is now in the right direction... This is a promising beginning.”

The report of the Committee of Experts for the year 2023 showed a copy of a power of attorney signed by Al-Saadi for one of his assistants, regarding an apartment he owns in Canada, and revealing his current residence in the Turkish city of Istanbul.

Al-Saadi, who was a professional football player in the Libyan and Italian teams, during his father’s rule, also worked as a Special Forces commander. He was acquitted in 2018 of the charge of killing former football coach Bashir Al-Rayani, a case that emerged before his father’s regime was overthrown in 2011.



Nuclear Neighbors India and Pakistan are a Step Closer To War. Here’s a Timeline of How It Happened

An Indian police personnel stands outside a house that was damaged by Pakistani artillery shelling in Jammu on May 10, 2025. (Photo by Rakesh BAKSHI / AFP)
An Indian police personnel stands outside a house that was damaged by Pakistani artillery shelling in Jammu on May 10, 2025. (Photo by Rakesh BAKSHI / AFP)
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Nuclear Neighbors India and Pakistan are a Step Closer To War. Here’s a Timeline of How It Happened

An Indian police personnel stands outside a house that was damaged by Pakistani artillery shelling in Jammu on May 10, 2025. (Photo by Rakesh BAKSHI / AFP)
An Indian police personnel stands outside a house that was damaged by Pakistani artillery shelling in Jammu on May 10, 2025. (Photo by Rakesh BAKSHI / AFP)

A gun massacre of tourists on April 22 has pushed India and Pakistan a step closer to war, marking the biggest breakdown in relations since 2019.
Conflict between India and Pakistan is not rare, with the two countries having periodically engaged in wars, clashes and skirmishes since gaining independence from British India in 1947.
What’s different about this escalation is the frequency and intensity of strikes and retaliation.
Although the US had said it would not step in, it is now offering assistance in “starting constructive talks” between India and Pakistan to avoid future conflicts. But calls for restraint from the international community have yet to make an impact.
Here’s a timeline of how the latest conflict has unfolded:
April 22 Gunmen shoot and kill at least 26 tourists at a Pahalgam resort in Indian-controlled Kashmir, a major shift in a regional conflict that has largely spared civilians. The unidentified gunmen also wound 17 other people. A group called Kashmir Resistance, which India accuses Pakistan of backing, claims the attack.
Survivors tell The Associated Press that gunmen asked people if they were Hindu and then opened fire.
April 23 India downgrades diplomatic ties, closes the only functional land border crossing, and suspends a crucial water-sharing treaty that has survived two wars and a major border skirmish between the two countries.
India launches a manhunt for the Pahalgam assailants. Pakistan denies involvement with the attack.
April 24 India and Pakistan cancel visas for each other’s nationals, setting a deadline for them to leave. In retaliation, Pakistan shuts its airspace for all Indian-owned or Indian-operated airlines, and suspends all trade with India, including to and from any third country.
Government ministers on both sides hint the dispute could escalate to military action.
April 25 India says its troops exchanged fire with Pakistani soldiers at the Line of Control, the de facto border dividing the disputed Kashmir region.
Pakistan warns it could suspend an agreement that established the Line of Control, in what would be a major and worrying step. The United Nations urges both sides to “exercise maximum restraint.”
April 26 Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif vows his government will respond “with full force and might” to Indian attempts to stop or divert the flow of water.
Iran offers mediation, while Trump says he expects them to work out their differences. “There’s great tension between Pakistan and India, but there always has been,” he tells reporters aboard Air Force One.
April 30 Authorities in Indian-controlled Kashmir temporarily close dozens of resorts in the scenic Himalayan region after the deadly attack on tourists.
Troops from both countries exchange fire over the Line of Control for a fifth consecutive night.
Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar says his government has “credible intelligence” that India intends to carry out military action against Pakistan in the next 24 to 36 hours.
May 1 US Secretary of State Marco Rubio calls senior officials in India and Pakistan in an effort to defuse the crisis. US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce says Rubio in his call with India expressed sorrow over the killings in Pahalgam and reaffirmed the US’s “commitment to cooperation with India against terrorism."
Pakistan says Rubio emphasized the need for both sides to “continue working together for peace and stability” in South Asia.
May 3 Pakistan test-fires a ballistic missile with a range of 450 kilometers (about 280 miles). Missiles are not fired toward the border area with India; they are normally fired into the Arabian Sea or the deserts of the southwest Balochistan province.
India suspends the exchange of all mail from Pakistan through air and surface routes and bans the direct and indirect import of goods from its neighbor. It also bars Pakistani-flagged ships from entering its ports and prohibits Indian-flagged vessels from visiting Pakistani ports.
May 7 India fires missiles on Pakistan, which calls the strikes an “act of war” and vows to avenge those who died in the pre-dawn attack.
The missiles kill 31 people, including women and children, in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and the country’s Punjab province. The strikes targeted at least nine sites “where terrorist attacks against India have been planned,” says India’s Defense Ministry.
Pakistan claims it downed several Indian fighter jets.
May 8 India fires attack drones into Pakistan, killing at least two civilians, the Pakistani military says. India, meanwhile, accuses its neighbor of attempting its own attack and acknowledges targeting its archrival’s air defense system.
India evacuates thousands of people from villages near the highly militarized frontier in the Kashmir region. Flights remain suspended at over two dozen airports across northern and western regions of India.
Pakistan's Punjab province announces the immediate closure of all schools and other educational institutions.
May 9 India suspends its biggest domestic cricket tournament for a week following the escalating military tensions with Pakistan. Pakistan initially says it will move its own domestic T20 tournament to the United Arab Emirates because of the crisis, but then says it will only postpone matches.
Several northern and western Indian states shut schools and other educational institutions.
US Vice President JD Vance says a potential war between India and Pakistan would be “none of our business.”
India's army says drones have been sighted in 26 locations across many areas in Indian states bordering Pakistan and Indian-controlled Kashmir, including the main city of Srinagar. The drones were tracked and engaged, it adds.
The Group of Seven nations, or G7, urge “maximum restraint” from both India and Pakistan, warning that further military escalation poses a serious threat to regional stability.
May 10 Pakistan says India has fired missiles at air bases inside the country and that retaliatory strikes are underway. The Indian missiles targeted Nur Khan air base in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, near the capital Islamabad, Murid air base in Chakwal city, and Rafiqui air base in the Jhang district of eastern Punjab province, according to the Pakistani army's chief spokesperson.
Pakistan says it has fired missiles at Indian military positions.
Residents in Indian-controlled Kashmir report hearing loud explosions at multiple places in the region, including Srinagar, Jammu, and the garrison town of Udhampur.