Seif al-Islam Gadhafi, a son of the late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, has reportedly died in Libya, according to officials.
The 53-year-old was killed in the town of Zintan, southwest of Tripoli, according to the chief prosecutor’s office. An initial investigation suggests he was shot.
Khaled al-Zaidi, a lawyer for Seif al-Islam, confirmed the death, and a statement from Seif al-Islam’s team claimed he was killed by masked men who stormed his home.
Born in 1972, Seif al-Islam was seen by some as a potential reformer within his father’s regime, which was ousted in 2011 after more than four decades in power following a popular uprising. Moammar Gadhafi was killed in October 2011, leading to civil war and division in Libya.
Seif al-Islam was captured in 2011 and released in 2017. He was convicted in absentia of inciting violence and murdering protesters in 2015. He had announced his candidacy for president in 2021, but was disqualified, and the election was ultimately not held due to ongoing disputes between rival factions in Libya.
