![Saadi Kadhafi, the son of slain Libyan dictator uammar Gaddafi, sits dressed in prison blues waiting before trial in a courthouse in the Libyan capital Tripoli on March 13, 2016 [MAHMUD TURKIA/AFP via Getty Images]](https://i0.wp.com/d2.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Saadi-Gaddafi.png?fit=920%2C613&ssl=1)
Libyan authorities released Saadi Gaddafi, the son of former leader Muammar Gaddafi, a government official said.
During the 2011 uprising, Saadi Gaddafi fled for Niger but was extradited to Libya in 2014 and has been imprisoned in Tripoli ever since.
A spokesman for Libya’s National Unity Government, Muhammad Hammouda, confirmed in a statement Saadi’s release, saying reconciliation can only be achieved by establishing justice and complying with judicial rulings.
Well-informed sources told Al-Quds Al-Arabi news site that Saadi Gaddafi immediately left Libya after his release, heading to Istanbul on board a private plane.
Saadi, a footballer, was accused of crimes committed against protesters in 2011 and of the 2005 killing of Libyan football coach Bashir Al-Rayani.
In April 2018, the court of appeal acquitted him of Al-Rayani’s murder.