Saif al-Islam
Saif al-Islam, son of Muammar Gaddafi, who was reported to have been captured by Libyan opposition forces on Sunday, has made a public appearance in Tripoli, AFP news agency reported.
"I am here
to refute the lies," Saif al-Islam, wanted by the International Criminal Court [ICC] for crimes against humanity, said on Monday, referring to reports of his arrest.
When asked if his father was safe and well in Tripoli, Saif said, "Of course".
Several journalists saw Saif al-Islam at Bab al-Azizyah, Gaddafi's residential complex in the capital.
Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the ICC prosecutor, had earlier said the 39-year-old was arrested and in detention.
Three journalists, including from AFP, were taken by car to the Gaddafi compound by representatives of the regime.
Saif al-Islam arrived in a vehicle in front of the building complex, which was bombed by the Americans in 1986.
He was greeted by several dozen supporters waving his portrait and that of his father, as well as Libyan flags.
Earlier on Monday, rebel forces arrested Saadi Gaddafi, the third son of Gaddafi.
Saadi Gaddafi's capture, in the capital Tripoli, came as the whereabouts of other relatives and senior Libyan officials remained unknown.
Gaddafi's eldest son, Mohammad, who was also detained by rebels on Sunday night is reported to have escaped.
In an interview with Al Jazeera after he surrendered, Mohammad expressed his "sadness" at the fighting in Libya. The interview was interrupted by gunfire.
"What's happening in Libya is very upsetting. The killing between brothers, between Muslims, is something that saddens me," he said, shortly before gunfire rang out in the background.
Abdul Jalil said that Gaddafi was unharmed, though there was no way to verify that claim. Mohammad did, however, conduct another interview on air with Al Jazeera shortly after the gunfire.
Mohammad was the chairman of Libya's main state-run telecommunications firm, but his role in his father's government was reportedly minimal, far smaller than Saif al-Islam's.
Other former senior Gaddafi officials remain at large, including three of his seven sons.
The biggest question is Muammar Gaddafi himself, last heard in a brief audio recording on Sunday night. He called on Libya's tribes to March on the capital.
"How can you allow Tripoli to be burned?" he asked.
It is unclear whether Gaddafi is still in Tripoli, though that seems increasingly unlikely. Gaddafi, like Saif al-Islam, is wanted by the ICC.
Three other Gaddafi sons - Hannibal, Mutasim and Khamis - have not been located. Hannibal had little role in politics, but Khamis headed a feared army unit that took a leading role in suppressing protests. Mutasim was an army officer and a security adviser to his father.
The Al-Arabiya news network reported on Monday that Khamis was traveling to central Tripoli with soldiers loyal to him. That report could not be immediately confirmed.
Abdullah al-Senussi, Gaddafi's longtime intelligence chief and brother-in-law, also seems to have eluded the rebels. He was last seen at Tripoli's Rixos Hotel on Sunday, when he told foreign journalists that "Western intelligence" was "working alongside al-Qaeda to destroy Libya".
There are rumours in Arabic newspapers that Senussi fled Tripoli, either to southern Libya or to the Tunisian town of Djerba, but those reports cannot be substantiated.
Senussi was the third Libyan official charged by the ICC in June. The court accused him of carrying out a campaign of murder, mass arrest and torture.
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All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©
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