Saadi Gaddafi, the son of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was toppled from power and killed in a 2011 revolt, has been freed from prison after more than seven years, a unity government source said Sunday.
The former professional football player had been in detention in Tripoli and accused of crimes against demonstrators in 2011 and of the killing of Libyan footballer Bashir Al Rayani in 2005.
On Twitter early Monday, Prime Minister-designate Abdul Hamid Dbeibah said the 48-year old Gaddafi had been freed in compliance with a previous court order.
Gaddafi was extradited to Libya in 2014 after he fled for Niger during the uprising. He has been behind bars since then in Tripoli.
Gaddafi immediately flew to Istanbul upon release, and is reportedly planning to leave for Egypt to join some of his family members, an official source cited by Reuters disclosed.
Three of the dictator's seven sons were killed during the uprising, and Libya has since collapsed into mayhem, with rival factions jockeying for power.
As part of a peace effort that was also intended to include elections planned for December, a national unity government was set up in March.
A transitional government representative stated Saadi walked free from the al-Hadaba Prison in Tripoli, where many of the elder Gaddafi government officials are being held pending trial.
The release of Gaddafi, who was known for his extravagant and playboy lifestyle during his father's rule, resulted from deals that included senior tribal officials and prime minister Abdulhamid Dbeibeh, sources said.
In 2018, Libya's Ministry of Justice said Gaddafi had been found not guilty of "murder, deception, threats, enslavement and defamation" of Rayani.
His father governed Libya with brutality for more than four decades before he his ouster in August 2011. He was captured and slain two months later.
He had eight children. His son Muatassim died at the same time Gaddafi was captured and killed. His two other sons, Khamis and Saif al-Arab, were killed earlier in the revolt.
In July, the New York Times disclosed that it had interviewed Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, Saadi's brother, who was held for years in Zintan, as his supporters indicate he will run in the presidential elections in December.
