Libya frees Saadi Gaddafi, son of ex-dictator Muammar Gaddafi, after seven years of detention

Mr Gaddafi departed for Istanbul after his release from Tripoli’s al-Hadaba prison

Al Saadi Gaddafi, the third son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi speaks at a news conference in Sydney in 2005 (Reuters)

Saadi Gaddafi, the son of Libya's former dictator Muammar Gaddafi, was released after more than seven years of detention following his father's execution.

After his release on Sunday, the 47-year-old departed on a plane to Istanbul in Turkey, Reuters reported. He was given the choice to either stay or leave the country.

"The chief prosecutor asked, several months ago, for the execution of the decision relating to Saadi Gaddafi as soon as all the required conditions had been satisfied, a source at the prosecutor's office told AFP.

Mohamed Hamouda, a spokesperson for the transitional government in Libya, said Mr Gaddafi walked free from Tripoli’s al-Hadaba prison, where several people from his father's regime are held pending trial.

“We cannot move forward without achieving reconciliation or establishing a state without achieving justice, enforcing the law, respecting the principle of separation of powers and following judicial procedures and rulings," prime minister-designate Abdul Hamid Dbeibah said in a tweet, announcing his release.

Mr Gaddafi was released after being acquitted of charges dating back to 2011, during the NATO-backed uprising against his father’s dictatorship. He was accused of heading a special forces brigade that was deployed to crack down on protestors.

A former professional footballer in Italy, he was also accused of killing Libyan football coach Bashir al-Rayani in 2005. Mr Gaddafi was known to lead a flamboyant lifestyle and treat the football team as his fief. However, in 2018 he was acquitted of the charges, including “murder, deception, threats, enslavement and defamation of the former player Bashir Rayani.”

Amid the uprising-turned-civil war, Mr Gaddafi was smuggled to the neighbouring Niger in 2011 and three years later was extradited in March 2014. The West African country's government at that time said Mr Gaddafi and his colleagues “failed to respect the conditions of his stay in Niger."

During the uprising, three of the dictator’s eight children were killed. His son Muatassim was killed along with his Gaddafi, while his other two sons Seif al-Arab and Khamis were killed earlier during the unrest. Another son Hannibal has been detained in Lebanon.

The heir-apparent Seif al-Islam has been in Libya since his release from prison in 2017. His other children and wife were reportedly granted asylum in Oman in 2012.

Following the uprising, Libya fell into an abyss of chaos and poverty, where multiple rulers have tried their bid to rule the north African country. Last year, a ceasefire ended the factional fighting and led to the formation of a transitional government in 2021.

The general elections are scheduled to take place in December this year.