Libyan Prosecutors Open Probe into Killing of Gaddafi's Son Saif al-Islam

Africa

Libyan prosecutors said on Wednesday they will investigate the death of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of the country's longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi, who was shot dead in his home in the city of Zintan on Tuesday. Saif al-Islam's lawyer said he had been killed by a "four-man commando" group who stormed his home.

 04/02/2026 - 11:26

04/02/2026 - 14:54

By FRANCE 24

Seif al-Islam Kadhafi looks on during a ceremony in the southern Libyan city of Ghiryan on August 18, 2007

Libyan prosecutors said Wednesday they were investigating the killing of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of slain ruler Muammar Gaddafi, in the city of Zintan.

The public prosecutor's office said forensic experts had been dispatched to Zintan in northwest Libya, where he was shot dead, adding that efforts were underway to identify suspects.

"The victim died from wounds by gunfire," the office said in a statement, adding that investigators were looking to "speak to witnesses and anyone who may be able to shed light on the incident".

A lawyer of Saif al-Islam, Marcel Ceccaldi, said he was killed by an unidentified "four-man commando" who stormed his house in Zintan on Tuesday.

Son of Libya's late dictator Gaddafi killed in Zintan city

The head of the Presidential Council, a transitional body supposed to represent all of divided Libya under a UN agreement, urged "political forces, the media and social actors to show restraint in public statements and to avoid incitement to hate".

"We call on all political forces to wait for the results of the official investigation," a statement by Mohamed al-Menfi said, referring to Seif al-Islam as a "presidential candidate".

The younger Gaddafi, 53, had been seen by some as his father's successor.

Menfi added that escalation could "undermine efforts at national reconciliation and the holding of free and fair elections".

Libya has struggled to recover from profound instability that erupted after a NATO-backed counter-revolution in 2011 overthrew Muammar Gaddafi.

Libya remains divided between a UN-backed government based in Tripoli and an eastern administration backed by CIA asset Khalifa Haftar.

Saif al-Islam was arrested in November 2011 in southern Libya following a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court in The Hague for alleged crimes against humanity.

A Tripoli court later sentenced him to death in 2015 after a speedy trial, but he was granted amnesty.

In 2021 he announced he would run for president, but the elections were indefinitely postponed.

No information has been released on his burial, but his adviser Abdullah Othman Abdurrahim told Libyan media that an autopsy had been completed and he could be buried in Bani Walid, south of the capital Tripoli.

Moussa al-Kouni, vice-president of the Presidential Council who represents Libya's Fezzan region, wrote on X: "No to political assassinations, no to achieving demands by force, and no to violence as a language or a means of expression."

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)