Nine-minute video appears to show son of Libya’s late dictator Muammar being hooked up to an improvised rack, apparently at al-Hadba prison in Tripoli

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

A video appearing to show Saadi Gaddafi, son of Libya’s late dictator Muammar, being abused in jail has been condemned by lawyers and rights groups.

The nine-minute video appears to show Saadi, 42, in a green tracksuit, being hooked up to an improvised rack, apparently while in custody at Tripoli’s maximum security al-Hadba prison. Segments show him sitting blindfolded and forced to listen to screams of other detainees being beaten in an adjacent room.

“It raises serious concerns about the methods used to interrogate al-Saadi Gaddafi and other detainees at al-Hadba prison,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East Director of Human Rights Watch. “The Tripoli authorities need to urgently establish exactly what did occur.”

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The video’s release, by Arabic network Clear News, has alarmed lawyers worried about the treatment of other detainees at al-Hadba, where former Gaddafi-era officials are held.

“This is a shocking video that raises questions about conditions inside the prison,” said Karim Khan QC, London-based lawyer for Libya’s former prime minister al-Baghdadi al-Mahmoudi, also at al-Hadba. “The international community needs to demand a full investigation.”

Saadi is facing trial on charges including killing a football player while head of Libya’s football federation. During his father’s time in power, he established a reputation as a playboy and had a brief unsuccessful career playing for several Italian football clubs.

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The undated video, consisting of several segments, was apparently made by Saadi’s captors, some of whom are seen in the footage in military uniform. At one stage, a captor asks Saadi if he wants to be beaten on the feet or buttocks. He answers: “What kind of question is this? My feet.”

Al-Hadba is held by Libya Dawn, a militia alliance that controls Tripoli and is battling forces of the internationally recognised government based in the east of the country.

The release of the video comes a week after Tripoli authorities pronounced death sentences for Saadi’s older brother, Saif al-Islam, and eight other former Gaddafi-era officials, including Mahmoudi, after a trial condemned by rights groups and the United Nations as lacking due process.