Tripoli: A Libyan court of appeals has acquitted Saadi Qaddafi, a son of former Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi, of murdering a football coach in 2005, a judicial source said Wednesday.
The court’s criminal chamber acquitted Saadi Qaddafi on Tuesday of charges of “voluntary homicide,” the source said on condition of anonymity.
The former ruler’s son was accused of murdering Bashir Al-Rayani, a former footballer and coach of Tripoli’s Al-Ittihad football club, where Qaddafi played, in 2005.
The judicial source added that the ministry of justice asked the supreme court Wednesday to submit an update on the other cases involving Qaddafi.
Extradited from Niger on March 6, 2014, Qaddafi is also being tried, among others, for alleged involvement in the deadly crackdown on the revolt that toppled his father’s regime in 2011. The case has repeatedly been postponed.
Rayani’s son, Ali, took to local media to denounce the court’s ruling, saying his family would appeal the decision “until justice is served.”
“The case is clear. All the evidence and testimony confirm the responsibility of Saadi Qaddafi,” Ali Al-Rayani told the 218News channel.
“How is it possible that a criminal whose culpability is confirmed by concrete evidence can be acquitted... It’s impossible!” he said.
“We could not get justice under his father’s regime, we will get it now, I’m confident!“
Of Qaddafi’s seven sons, three died were killed during the uprising, as was their father.
After playing with Libyan clubs, Saadi Qaddafi signed in 2003 with Italy’s Perugia club, whose management took him on at the request of then Italian president Silvio Berlusconi, who had close ties with the Libyan regime.
But even though he was a part of the team, Saadi Qaddafi rarely stepped foot on the field, appearing only twice on the substitutes’ bench.
He was suspended for three months in his second season with the team for doping.
His greatest achievement was playing 15 minutes against Juventus in May 2004.
In June 2005, he joined Udinese, with whom he played 11 minutes. The following year he joined Sampdoria of Genoa, where he played less than 10 minutes all season.
Libya court acquits Saadi Qaddafi of murdering football coach
Libya court acquits Saadi Qaddafi of murdering football coach
- Son of Muammar Qaddafi was accused of murdering Tripoli Al-Ittihad coach Bashir Al-Rayani
- Saadi Qaddafi also being tried for crackdown on revolt that toppled his father's regime
Gaza ceasefire enters phase two despite unresolved issues
- Under the second phase, Gaza is to be administered by a 15-member Palestinian technocratic committee operating under the supervision of a so-called “Board of Peace,” to be chaired by Trump
JERUSALEM: A US-backed plan to end the war in Gaza has entered its second phase despite unresolved disputes between Israel and Hamas over alleged ceasefire violations and issues unaddressed in the first stage.
The most contentious questions remain Hamas’s refusal to publicly commit to full disarmament, a non-negotiable demand from Israel, and Israel’s lack of clarity over whether it will fully withdraw its forces from Gaza.
The creation of a Palestinian technocratic committee, announced on Wednesday, is intended to manage day-to-day governance in post-war Gaza, but it leaves unresolved broader political and security questions.
Below is a breakdown of developments from phase one to the newly launched second stage.
Gains and gaps in phase one
The first phase of the plan, part of a 20-point proposal unveiled by US President Donald Trump, began on October 10 and aimed primarily to stop the fighting in the Gaza Strip, allow in aid and secure the return of all remaining living and deceased hostages held by Hamas and allied Palestinian militant groups.
All hostages have since been returned, except for the remains of one Israeli, Ran Gvili.
Israel has accused Hamas of delaying the handover of Gvili’s body, while Hamas has said widespread destruction in Gaza made locating the remains difficult.
Gvili’s family had urged mediators to delay the transition to phase two.
“Moving on breaks my heart. Have we given up? Ran did not give up on anyone,” his sister, Shira Gvili, said after mediators announced the move.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said efforts to recover Gvili’s remains would continue but has not publicly commented on the launch of phase two.
Hamas has accused Israel of repeated ceasefire violations, including air strikes, firing on civilians and advancing the so-called “Yellow Line,” an informal boundary separating areas under Israeli military control from those under Hamas authority.
Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry said Israeli forces had killed 451 people since the ceasefire took effect.
Israel’s military said it had targeted suspected militants who crossed into restricted zones near the Yellow Line, adding that three Israeli soldiers were also killed by militants during the same period.
Aid agencies say Israel has not allowed the volume of humanitarian assistance envisaged under phase one, a claim Israel rejects.
Gaza, whose borders and access points remain under Israeli control, continues to face severe shortages of food, clean water, medicine and fuel.
Israel and the United Nations have repeatedly disputed figures on the number of aid trucks permitted to enter the Palestinian territory.
Disarmament, governance in phase two
Under the second phase, Gaza is to be administered by a 15-member Palestinian technocratic committee operating under the supervision of a so-called “Board of Peace,” to be chaired by Trump.
“The ball is now in the court of the mediators, the American guarantor and the international community to empower the committee,” Bassem Naim, a senior Hamas leader, said in a statement on Thursday.
Trump on Thursday announced the board of peace had been formed and its members would be announced “shortly.”
Mediators Egypt, Turkiye and Qatar said Ali Shaath, a former deputy minister in the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority, had been appointed to lead the committee.
Later on Thursday, Egyptian state television reported that all members of the committee had “arrived in Egypt and begun their meetings in preparation for entering the territory.”
Al-Qahera News, which is close to Egypt’s state intelligence services, said the members’ arrival followed US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff’s announcement on Wednesday “of the start of the second phase and what was agreed upon at the meeting of Palestinian factions in Cairo yesterday.”
Shaath, in a recent interview, said the committee would rely on “brains rather than weapons” and would not coordinate with armed groups.
On Wednesday, Witkoff said phase two aims for the “full demilitarization and reconstruction of Gaza,” including the disarmament of all unauthorized armed factions.
Witkoff said Washington expected Hamas to fulfil its remaining obligations, including the return of Gvili’s body, warning that failure to do so would bring “serious consequences.”
The plan also calls for the deployment of an International Stabilization Force to help secure Gaza and train vetted Palestinian police units.
For Palestinians, the central issue remains Israel’s full military withdrawal from Gaza — a step included in the framework but for which no detailed timetable has been announced.
With fundamental disagreements persisting over disarmament, withdrawal and governance, diplomats say the success of phase two will depend on sustained pressure from mediators and whether both sides are willing — or able — to move beyond long-standing red lines.
