Al-Saadi Gaddafi

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Al-Saadi Gaddafi
Personal information
Full name Al-Saadi Muammar Gaddafi
Date of birth (1973-05-25) 25 May 1973 (age 48)
Place of birth Tripoli, Libya
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2000–2001 Al-Ahly Tripoli 14 (3)
2001–2003 Al-Ittihad Tripoli 74 (24)
2003–2004 Perugia 1 (0)
2005–2006 Udinese 1 (0)
2006–2007 Sampdoria 0 (0)
National team
2000–2006 Libya 18 (2[1])
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Al-Saadi Muammar Gaddafi (Arabic: الساعدي معمر القذافي‎; born 25 May 1973) is a Libyan retired professional football player.

The third son of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, in 2011, he was the commander of Libya's Special Forces and was involved in the Libyan Civil War.[2] An Interpol notice was issued against him in 2011.[3] On 5 March 2014, he was arrested in Niger and extradited to Libya, where he faced murder charges,[4] which he was cleared of in 2018.[5] In August 2015, a video surfaced allegedly showing Gaddafi being tortured.[6]

Football career[]

Gaddafi is known for his participation in Libyan football, which was arranged in his favour. One law forbade announcing the name of any football player with the exception of Gaddafi. Only numbers of other players were announced. Referees favoured Gaddafi's club and security forces were used to silence protests.[7][8]

On 6 June 2000, the BBC reported that Gaddafi had signed with Maltese champions Birkirkara F.C. and would play for them in the Champions League.[9] The move failed to materialize. In 2003, he signed for Italian Serie A team Perugia, employing Diego Maradona as his technical consultant and Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson as his personal trainer.[10]

He made only one substitute appearance against Juventus for Perugia[11] before failing a drug test, due to presence in his system of the illegal substance Nandrolone.[12] An article in la Repubblica said that "Even at twice his current speed he would still be twice as slow as slow itself."[13]

He was also captain of the Libya national football team, captain of his home club in Tripoli, and president of the Libyan Football Federation.[14]

Gaddafi joined UEFA Champions League qualifiers Udinese Calcio in 2005–06, playing only 10 minutes in an end-of-season league match against Cagliari Calcio. He joined U.C. Sampdoria during season 2006–07, without playing a single match.

Career statistics[]

Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Italy League Coppa Italia League Cup Europe Total
2003–04 Perugia Serie A 1 0
2004–05 Serie B 0 0
2005–06 Udinese Serie A 1 0
2006–07 Sampdoria Serie A 0 0
Total Italy 2 0
Career total 2 0

Business activities[]

In 2006, Al-Saadi Gaddafi and the Jamahiriya government launched a project to create a semi-autonomous city similar to Hong Kong in Libya, stretching 40 km between Tripoli and the Tunisian border. The proposed new city would become a high tech, banking, medical and educational center not requiring visas to enter. The city would have its own international airport and a major seaport. Gaddafi promised religious tolerance with both "synagogues and churches" and no discrimination in this new metropolis. The new city would have "Western-style" business laws that Saadi thought European and American companies would find welcoming and familiar.[15]

Gaddafi used to take great interest in the affairs of many of Libya's other business interests like Tamoil, the oil refining and marketing company owned by the Libyan government, before the overthrow of the regime.[15]

Italian lawsuit[]

In July 2010, Gaddafi was ordered by an Italian court to pay €392,000 to a luxurious Ligurian hotel for an unpaid bill dating back to a month-long stay in the summer of 2007.[16]

Personal life[]

Gaddafi is married to the daughter of al-Khweildi al-Hmeidi, a Libyan military commander.[17][18]

In 2009, a U.S. diplomatic cable called Gaddafi "the black sheep" of Muammar Gaddafi's family. It mentioned scuffles with European police, "abuse of drugs and alcohol, excessive partying" and "profligate affairs with women and men".[19] Gaddafi's bisexuality had partly prompted the arrangement of his marriage to the commander's daughter, the cable said.[18]

2011 to current[]

Libyan civil war[]

On 15 March 2011, there were unconfirmed reports that a pilot by the name of Muhammad Mokhtar Osman had flown his jet into the Gaddafi stronghold of Bab al-Azizia in Tripoli damaging it and injuring him and his brother Khamis.

Speaking to BBC Panorama, a former Jamahiriya soldier claimed that Gaddafi had personally ordered to shoot unarmed protesters in Benghazi when visiting the city's army barracks at the beginning of the uprising. Gaddafi confirmed that he had been at the barracks but denied giving orders to fire on protesters.[20]

Gaddafi was reportedly the driving force behind a change in fighting tactics of the government's forces. Instead of using heavy infantry, tanks and armored cars – which could easily be distinguished from the Free Libyan Army and then destroyed by allied fighter jets – the fight against the rebels was pursued with small, fast and versatile units.[21]

The rebels claimed that they captured him during the Battle of Tripoli, on 21 August, but later the claim turned out to be false.

On 24 August, Gaddafi contacted CNN, stating that he had the authority to negotiate on behalf of loyalist forces, and wished to discuss a ceasefire with U.S. and NATO authorities.[22] A week later he contacted Al Arabiya, stating his father was ready to step down, and called for dialogue with the National Transitional Council.[23]

On 5 September, Gaddafi said in an interview with CNN that an "aggressive" speech by his brother Saif al-Islam had led to the breakdown of talks between NTC forces and Gaddafi loyalists in Bani Walid, and said he had not seen his father in two months. Gaddafi also claimed a position of neutrality in the conflict and offered to mediate.[24]

On 11 September, Gaddafi fled to Niger and was allowed entrance on humanitarian grounds.[25][26] According to the government of Niger, they planned to detain Gaddafi while determining what to do with him.[27] Gaddafi had also been trying to assemble a team to transport him to Barbados or Venezuela.[28]

On 29 September, an Interpol red notice was issued for Gaddafi. Brigi Rafini, the prime minister of Niger said he would not allow Gaddafi to be extradited.[19]

On 11 November, Niger's President Mahamadou Issoufou said his government had decided to grant Gaddafi asylum "on humanitarian grounds".[29]

On 7 December, the Mexican interior secretary said that Mexican intelligence agents broke up a smuggling ring attempting to bring Gaddafi into Mexico under a false name.[30]

Extradition and torture allegations[]

On 5 March 2014, Libya announced that Gaddafi had been extradited by Niger and was in Tripoli.[31] His lawyer, Nick Kaufman, protested about the move stating "extradition suggests that this was a legal process where Saadi Gadhafi was accorded a lawyer, a court hearing, and…it's not even clear to me that that even took place".[32]

In May 2015, Gaddafi appeared in a Tripoli court and was formally charged with unlawful imprisonment and murder for the 2005 killing of football player .[33][34]

In early August 2015, video surfaced that appeared to show a blindfolded Gaddafi being forced to listen to other men allegedly being tortured in the next room. Then the guards beat the man appearing to be Gaddafi on the feet as he screams, after asking him if preferred to be beaten on the feet or on his buttocks. "It does appear to be Saadi Gaddafi," one of his lawyers, Melinda Taylor, told RT. "He looks the same in sense [that] his head ... [had been] shaved which happened to him last year." No legal team appears to be present.[citation needed]

International human rights groups and activists condemned the video, which appeared to take place at al-Hadba prison in Tripoli, and was first released by Arabic network Clear News.[6]

"This is a shocking video that raises questions about conditions inside the prison," said Karim Khan, a British attorney who represents Libya's former prime minister Baghdadi Mahmudi, who is also at al-Hadba. "The international community needs to demand a full investigation."[6]

An appeals court on 3 April 2018 cleared Saadi from the charge of murdering the footballer Bashir. He was however fined 500 Libyan dinars and a suspended one-year prison term for drinking and possessing alcohol.[5] As of 5 September 2021, he has been released from custody from al-Hadaba prison. [35] It was claimed that Saadi’s captors denied him the appropriate medical care.[36]

See also[]

  • List of sportspeople sanctioned for doping offences

References[]

  1. ^ National Football Teams
  2. ^ McElroy, Damien (10 March 2011). "Regime fears army revolt". The Sydney Morning Herald. London. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
  3. ^ "Interpol issues global alert on Gaddafi & 15 others". Al Arabiya News. 4 March 2011. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
  4. ^ "Niger extradites Gaddafi's son Saadi to Tripoli, Libya says". Reuters. 6 March 2014. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b "Libyan court clears Gaddafi son of footballer's murder". Reuters.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b c Stephen, Chris (4 August 2015). "Saadi Gaddafi abuse video condemned by lawyers and rights groups". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  7. ^ Dorsey, James M. (5 June 2011). "Benghazi soccer exemplifies the battle between Arab autocrats and their detractors". Al Arabiya. Archived from the original on 12 October 2011. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
  8. ^ Whitaker, Brian (23 February 2011). "Muammar Gaddafi: method in his 'madness'". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
  9. ^ "Gaddafi in Champions League". BBC News. 6 June 2000.
  10. ^ White, Duncan (29 October 2011). "Jay Bothroyd puts good times with playboy Saadi Gaddafi, son of dead Libya tyrant Colonel Gaddafi, behind him". The National Post. Archived from the original on 30 October 2011. Retrieved 30 October 2011.
  11. ^ Woodward, Hamish (3 June 2021). "Al-Saadi Gaddafi – The Dictator's son turned Football Star". Atletifo Sports. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  12. ^ Greg Lea. "Football and the Gaddafi Family". The Set Pieces. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  13. ^ Shaw, Phil (2008). The Book of Football Quotations. Ebury Press. pp. 32. ISBN 9780091923334.
  14. ^ Bell, Stewart (29 October 2011). "The Ontario man who helped Muammar Gaddafi's son flee Libya". The National Post. Toronto. Retrieved 29 October 2011.
  15. ^ Jump up to: a b Owen, David (1 October 2006). "Al-Saadi Gaddafi: Libya calling". The Independent. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
  16. ^ "Italian court tells Gaddafi son to pay huge hotel bill". BBC World News. 10 July 2010. Retrieved 12 July 2010.
  17. ^ "The Gaddafi family tree". BBC News. 21 February 2011.
  18. ^ Jump up to: a b "The New York Times Kept Qaddafi's Son's Bisexuality Quiet". The Atlantic Wire. 16 September 2011. Archived from the original on 3 June 2013. Retrieved 2 November 2011.
  19. ^ Jump up to: a b Farmer, Ben (29 September 2011). "Libya: Gaddafi mouthpiece caught 'fleeing dressed as a woman'". The Telegraph. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
  20. ^ "Saadi Gaddafi 'gave order to shoot' in Benghazi revolt". BBC. 21 March 2011. Retrieved 21 March 2011.
  21. ^ Wendl, Karl (30 March 2011). "Gaddafi trickst Rebellen aus" [Gaddafi tricks with rebels]. OE24 (in German). Retrieved 15 October 2011.
  22. ^ "Gadhafi son offers to broker Libya cease-fire". CNN. 24 August 2011. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
  23. ^ Ajbaili, Mustapha (31 August 2011). "Saadi Qaddafi tells Al Arabiya his father is ready to relinquish power". Al Arabiya. Archived from the original on 13 October 2011. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
  24. ^ "Gaddafi's son blames brother over speech". The Sydney Morning Herald. Agence France-Presse. 5 September 2011. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
  25. ^ "Gaddafi son found as NTC rallies forces". Al Jazeera. 11 September 2011. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
  26. ^ McMahon, Tamsin (31 October 2011). "Probe urged into how Ontario-based bodyguard helped Gaddafi's son flee from Libya". The National Post. Toronto. Retrieved 31 October 2011.
  27. ^ "Mon, 12 Sep 2011". Al Jazeera. Reuters. 12 September 2011. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
  28. ^ Bell, Stewart (31 October 2011). "Ontario man offered contractors $1,000 a day to transport Gaddafi's son". The National Post. Toronto. Archived from the original on 1 November 2011. Retrieved 31 October 2011.
  29. ^ Smith, David (11 November 2011). "Niger grants asylum to Saadi Gaddafi". The Guardian.
  30. ^ "Mexico 'stops entry' of Libya's Saadi Gaddafi". BBC. 7 December 2011. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
  31. ^ "Niger Extradites Gaddafi's Son Saadi: Libyan Government". The New York Times. 5 March 2014. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
  32. ^ "Gadhafi son improperly extradited to Libya, former lawyer says". cnn.com. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  33. ^ Spencer, Richard (6 March 2014). "Saadi Gaddafi extradited to Libya". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  34. ^ "Saadi Gaddafi in court in Libya for start of murder trial". The Daily Telegraph. Reuters. 10 May 2015. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  35. ^ "Libya frees Saadi Gaddafi". Reuters. 5 September 2021. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  36. ^ https://english.aawsat.com//home/article/1841706/saadi-gaddafi%e2%80%99s-family-plans-int%e2%80%99l-lawsuit-release-him

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