Gaddafi's son Saadi 'apologises to the Libyan people' Published duration 29 March 2014

image copyright AP

Libyan state TV has broadcast footage showing one of the sons of former leader Col Muammar Gaddafi apologising to the nation from prison.

"I apologise to the Libyan people... for disturbing the security and stability of Libya," Saadi Gaddafi is seen to say.

Saadi was extradited to Libya earlier this month from Niger, where he fled after the 2011 revolution.

He is accused of trying to suppress the uprising against his father's rule.

The 40-year-old, one of Col Gaddafi's seven sons, is best known for a brief career in Italian football as well as his playboy lifestyle.

'Hand over weapons'

In the video released by prison authorities in Tripoli, Saadi is seen wearing a blue prison uniform and with a shaven head.

"I apologise to the Libyan people, and I apologise to the dear brothers in the Libyan government for all the harm I've caused and for disturbing the security and stability of Libya," he says.

"I admit that these things were wrong, and we should not have perpetrated these acts."

He also says he is being treated well in prison and calls on "those who carry weapons to hand over their weapons".

The conditions surrounding the release of the video are unclear.

Saadi fled across the Sahara desert after National Transitional Council (NTC) forces overran the Libyan capital, Tripoli, in August 2011.

Niger had previously refused Libyan requests to extradite him, with the justice minister saying he was "certain to face the death penalty".

In 2012, Interpol issued a "red notice", obliging member countries to arrest him.

Since the uprising, Libya's new government has sought to extradite several Gaddafi family members and ex-officials, with mixed success.

Libya's highest-profile prisoner, Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, has been held in the Libyan town of Zintan since his capture in November 2011.

Court proceedings against him have begun, but he is still awaiting trial amid security concerns and procedural delays.

Saif has also been indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on war crimes charges relating to the 2011 revolt.