Gaddafi's second son Saif freed in Libya

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, second son of the late deposed
Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi, is said to have been freed under an amnesty, in a move which could fuel 
further instability.

His father's preferred successor, he had been held by
 a militia in the town of Zintan for the past six years.

The Abu Bakr al-Siddiq Battalion said he had been released
 on Friday but he has not been shown in public.

A source has told the ERICGOSSIP he is in the Tobruk area of
 eastern Libya.

His lawyer, Khaled al-Zaidi, also said he had been released
 but would not say which city Saif al-Islam had travelled
 to for security reasons.

The Abu Bakr al-Siddiq Battalion said it was acting
 on a request from the "interim government".

That government - based in the east of the country
 - had already offered amnesty to Saif al-Islam.

However, he has been sentenced to death in absentia
 by a court in Tripoli, the west of the country, where control
 is in the hands of the rival, UN-backed Government of National Accord.

Previous reports of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi's release proved
 to be false.

He is wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes
against humanity during his father's unsuccessful attempts
 to put down the rebellion.

If confirmed, the release of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi
 would add another unpredictable element to Libya's
 unstable mix.

He was detained in the desert in November 2011 trying
 to flee to Niger, and later appeared missing several fingers.

The former playboy often appeared in the West as the 
public face of the Gaddafi regime and was his father's heir-apparent.

While reviled by many - at home and abroad - he retains
 some support in Libya and could try to re-enter the political fray here.

The 44-year-old Saif al-Islam - who was 
controversially granted a PhD by the London School of Economics in 2008 - was captured in November 2011
after three months on the run following the end of Muammar Gaddafi's decades-long rule.

He was previously known for playing a key role
 in building relations with the West after 2000, and
 had been considered the reformist face of his 
father's regime.

But after the 2011 uprising, he found himself accused of
incitement to violence and murdering protesters.

Four years later, he was sentenced to death by firing
 squad following a trial involving 30 of Gaddafi's close associates.


Saif al-Islam: Heir to prisoner

June 1972: Born in Tripoli, Libya, second son of Libyan leader
Colonel Muammar Gaddafi

February 2011: Uprising against Gaddafi government begins

June 2011: International Criminal Court issues an arrest
warrant for Saif al-Islam for crimes against humanity

August 2011: Leaves the capital after Tripoli falls to anti-
government forces; flees to Bani Walid

October 2011: Father and younger brother killed

19 November 2011: Captured by militia as he tries to flee
south to Niger. Imprisoned in Zintan

July 2015: Sentenced to death by a Tripoli court in absentia

June 2017: Reportedly released after being granted amnesty
by one of Libya's two competing governments