Gadhafi son denies Interpol allegations
TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — Moammar Gadhafi’s son, al-Saadi, denied allegations of corruption and intimidation and called Interpol’s decision to put him on the equivalent of its most-wanted list political, according to an email sent Sunday.
Al-Saadi Gadhafi is under house arrest in Libyan neighbor Niger, where he fled after Tripoli fell to revolutionary forces. His father and two of his brothers are in hiding, presumably inside Libya, as fighting between revolutionary forces and Gadhafi’s loyalists continues on three fronts.
Al-Saadi “regrets the issue of a red notice by Interpol and strenuously denies the charges made against him,” an email forwarded to The Associated Press said.
Interpol issued a red notice for al-Saadi last week based on accusations he misappropriated property and engaged in “armed intimidation” when he headed the Libyan Football Federation. He also was a special forces commander and is the subject of U.N. sanctions for commanding military units involved in repression of demonstrations.
The international police agency said the notice was issued in response to a request by the Libya’s National Transitional Council, which has assumed leadership of the North African nation. Niger, which borders Libya on the south and long benefited from Gadhafi’s largesse, has said it would study the question.
In the email, al-Saadi called the Interpol notice a “clear political decision to recognize the de jure authority of the National Transitional Council taken without appropriate regard to the current absence of a functioning, effective and fair system of justice in Libya.”
It said al-Saadi “worked tirelessly to promote football in Libya, priding himself on the fact that Libya was formerly selected to host the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations.” It added that Gadhafi’s son “continues to call on all sides to seek a negotiated and peaceful resolution to the present conflict.”