عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

Conflicting Reports Emerge about Al-Saadi Gaddafi’s Presence in Turkey

Al-Saadi al-Gaddafi. (AFP file photo)
Al-Saadi al-Gaddafi. (AFP file photo)
TT
20
TT

Conflicting Reports Emerge about Al-Saadi Gaddafi’s Presence in Turkey

Al-Saadi al-Gaddafi. (AFP file photo)
Al-Saadi al-Gaddafi. (AFP file photo)

Conflicting reports continued to emerge over the presence of Al-Saadi al-Gaddafi, the son of Libya’s late leader Moammar al-Gaddafi, in Turkey’s Istanbul.

Sources had confirmed that the had flown to the city onboard a private jet soon after his release from prison last week.

Several Libyan news agencies and AFP had quoted sources at the Turkish Foreign Ministry as saying that it had no information about the presence of Al-Saadi in Istanbul.

But Moussa Ibrahim, a former Libyan information minister who still serves as a Gaddafi family spokesman, told Turkey’s Haberler that Al-Saadi was in Turkey with his family.

Egypt and other countries said they would welcome Al-Saadi, but he ultimately chose Turkey, he added.

During the 2011 uprising, Al-Saadi fled for Niger but was extradited to Libya in 2014 and had been imprisoned in Tripoli until last week.

He was accused of crimes committed against protesters in 2011 and of killing Libyan football coach Bashir al-Rayani in 2005. He was acquitted in that case in 2018.

Al-Saadi, 47, is Moammar’s third son. He briefly played as a professional footballer in Italy.

He was freed along with several other former regime officials, including Moammar’s former cabinet and intelligence chief, Ahmad Ramadan, last week.

Most Viewed

 
World

Japan and China Accuse Each Other of Violating Airspace Around Disputed East China Sea Islands

FILE - Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force P-3C Orion surveillance plane flies over the disputed islands, called the Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, in the East China Sea, on Oct. 13, 2011. (Kyodo News via AP, File)
FILE - Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force P-3C Orion surveillance plane flies over the disputed islands, called the Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, in the East China Sea, on Oct. 13, 2011. (Kyodo News via AP, File)
TT
20
TT

Japan and China Accuse Each Other of Violating Airspace Around Disputed East China Sea Islands

FILE - Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force P-3C Orion surveillance plane flies over the disputed islands, called the Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, in the East China Sea, on Oct. 13, 2011. (Kyodo News via AP, File)
FILE - Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force P-3C Orion surveillance plane flies over the disputed islands, called the Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, in the East China Sea, on Oct. 13, 2011. (Kyodo News via AP, File)

Japan and China are accusing each other of violating the airspace around the Japanese-controlled East China Sea islands that Beijing also claims.
Japan´s Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying that it has protested to Beijing after a Chinese helicopter that took off from one of China´s four coast guard boats had entered Japan´s territorial waters around the Senkaku island, violating the Japanese airspace around them for about 15 minutes on Saturday.
In response to the airspace intrusion, Japan´s Self-Defense Force scrambled fighter jets, the Defense Ministry said.
China routinely sends coast guard vessels and aircraft into waters and airspace surrounding the islands, which China calls the Diaoyu, to harass Japanese vessels in the area and force Japan to scramble jets in response, The Associated Press said.
The latest territorial flap comes as Japan and China were appearing to have warm ties as both countries seek to mitigate damages from the US tariff war.
The Japanese Foreign Ministry said it lodged a "very severe protest" through the Chinese embassy in Japan, claiming that China Coast Guard actions infringed Japan´s sovereignty and urging the Chinese government to ensure preventive measures.
China also said in a statement that it took a similar step and protested to Japan over a Japanese civilian aircraft violating its airspace around the islands, saying it was "strongly dissatisfied" about Japanese violation of China´s sovereignty.
Japanese officials are investigating a possible connection between the Chinese coast guard helicopter´s airspace intrusion and the small Japanese civilian aircraft flying in the area around the same time.
Saturday´s intrusion was the first by China since a Chinese reconnaissance aircraft violated the Japanese airspace off the southern prefecture of Nagasaki. Chinese aircraft have also violated the Japanese airspace around the Senkaku twice in the past.