Tripoli: Niger today extradited to Libya one of Moammar Gaddafi`s sons, al-Saadi, who fled as his father`s regime crumbled in 2011 and who was under house arrest in the desert West African nation ever since, the government in Tripoli said.
The authorities said al-Saadi, one of the deposed Libyan leader`s eight children, will be treated "in accordance with international law."
A Libyan official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said al-Saadi arrived early today at the Tripoli airport and was transferred to a prison in the capital.
Shortly after the news broke, photographs circulated on social media showing al-Saadi in a blue prison uniform while Libyan guards were shaving his hair and beard.
Al-Saadi was known for his love of professional soccer and a playboy lifestyle. His brief career in Italian football ended after a failed drug test. He headed Libya`s Football Federation and was also former head of the country`s special forces.
Like most of Gaddafi loyalists and ex-regime officials, al-Saadi is wanted for his role in curbing protests against his father`s rule and the killing of protesters.
But unlike his brother, Seif al-Islam, who was groomed to be Gaddafi`s successor, al-Saadi is not sought by the International Criminal Court. Seif al-Islam is held by a militia in the western Libyan town of Zintan, which refuses to hand him over to the central government for trial.
With the extradition, al-Saadi joins Seif al-Islam as the only two of Gaddafi`s children currently in Libya.
At least three other Gaddafi`s sons were killed during the uprising while the rest of the children sought asylum in neighbouring Algeria, along with Gaddafi`s wife and al-Saadi`s mother, Safiya.
The mother, a sister and two brothers, were granted asylum in Oman in 2012 and moved there from Algeria.
The rule of law is still weak in Libya after decades of Gaddafi`s reign. Courts are still paralysed and security remains tenuous as unruly militias proliferate.
