Saif al-Islam Qaddafi, son and one-time heir apparent of toppled Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi, will be moved to a Tripoli prison within two months and then face trial, the chairman of Libya’s National Transitional Council (NTC) said on Sunday.
Three months after his capture in Libya’s Sahara desert dressed as a Bedouin tribesman, Saif al-Islam remains at a secret location in the northwestern town of Zintan, reflecting a wider problem of powerful local militias and a weak central government in the North African country.
In an interview with Reuters, Mustafa Abdul Jalil said authorities were completing the construction of a prison in central Tripoli, begun under the late Muammar Qaddafi, to which Saif al-Islam would be moved.
“At this moment he is being interrogated and his trial will begin as soon as the prison facility is ready,” Abdul Jalil said. “I can’t give an exact timeframe in terms of weeks or months for this but it will not be more than two months.”
Zintan commanders say they have kept Saif al-Islam in their remote mountain town, rather than hand him over to Tripoli, to spare him the fate of his father.
He now faces trial in Tripoli on murder and rape charges and could face the death penalty if convicted. The International Criminal Court in The Hague has indicted him for crimes against humanity but Libya says he will be tried in his home country.
Abdul Jalil said Niger had confiscated communication devices belonging to Saif al-Islam’s brother Saadi, after al-Arabiya broadcast an interview with him on Friday.
In the telephone interview Saadi, who fled south to Niger in September, said he was in regular contact with people in Libya unhappy with authorities and warned of a “coming uprising” in the country.
That prompted Libya to urge Niger to extradite Saadi, saying his comments threatened bilateral ties. But Niger said it could not hand over Saadi because he would face execution in Libya
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