The Times: Saif al-Islam Gaddafi intends to run for Libyan presidency

According to the British publication, Gaddafi’s son, Saif al-Islam, who “was formerly seen as his father’s successor, has not been seen or heard in public since his detention 10 years ago in Libya.”

According to the Times, Saif al-Islam “spoke by phone to authenticate his name and say he was fine, in a call designed to clarify his relationship with a team of advisers operating on his behalf.”

The publication further stated that Saif al-Islam Gaddafi “had been communicating with Western diplomats and other diplomats in order to establish his credentials while returning to public life,” while Gaddafi’s son “is still wanted by the International Criminal Court.”

They also stated that Gaddafi intended to run in the elections slated for December 24, but that any nomination would be contingent on the ratification of an election law, which opponents could use to block him from competing.

Since his release in the Western Mountain city of Zintan in 2017, the case of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi’s disappearance and fate has been hotly contested, as it is unknown whether he is alive or dead.

In this context, Ahmed Gaddafi Al-Dam, the political official known as the “Libyan National Struggle Front,” stated that Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi had freedom of speech and movement, but he approached things cautiously and in accordance with his vision.

Regarding Saif Al-Islam and the fact that it has not yet been made public, he stated in October 2020: “In some cases, the most powerful word is silence, and Saif has freedom of movement and speech, adding that he is in contact with many Libyan sides and tribes, stressing that he considers Libya currently occupied.”

In a similar context, The Times disclosed in an article published in 2020 that there was a network of conspiracies aimed at allowing Gaddafi’s son to control Libya and that the threads of such plans ran to Moscow.

The International Criminal Court’s Appeals Chamber unanimously accepted the case against Saif al-Islam Gaddafi for crimes against humanity in March 2020, since he had been wanted by the International Criminal Court since June 2011.

After a trial involving around 30 Gaddafi regime emblems, Saif al-Islam was condemned to death by firing squad in 2015 after being convicted of war crimes, including the massacre of demonstrators during his father’s leadership.