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Russia has expressed concern about the killing of Saif al-Islam, the second son of the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and his second wife, Safia Farkash.
The Foreign Ministry condemned the assassination in the strongest terms, adding that the circumstances surrounding the incident remain unclear.
“It is imperative that a thorough and transparent investigation is conducted, and that those responsible are held accountable,” the ministry urged in a statement.
Saif was murdered on February 3 by assailants who stormed his home in the town of Zintan, some 136 km southwest of the Libyan capital, Tripoli.
A statement released by Gaddafi’s political team said four masked men invaded the residence and killed him in a “cowardly and treacherous assassination.”
The associates said Saif clashed with the gang, revealing they blocked the security cameras within the premises in a “desperate attempt to conceal traces of their heinous crimes.”
Khaled al-Mishri, ex-chairman of the High Council of State, the Government of National Accord’s advisory body, has called for an “urgent and transparent investigation.”
Born in June 1972 in Tripoli, Saif was regarded as his father’s second-in-command from 2000 until 2011, when Muammar Gaddafi was killed by Libyan opposition forces.
Saif was placed on a United Nations sanctions list and a travel ban in February 2011. In June 2011, the International Criminal Court (ICC) declared him wanted for alleged crimes against humanity.
In November 2011, the Abu Bakr al-Siddiq Brigade militia captured Saif as he tried to flee to Niger after the rebels took over Tripoli. A court in Tripoli sentenced him to death in 2015.
He was eventually released from detention in Zintan in June 2017, following an amnesty law passed by the parliament, and had spent years underground in Zintan to avoid assassination.
Saif’s announcement of his intention to run in the Libyan presidential election in November 2021 generated outrage from anti-Gaddafi political forces and civilians across the country.
