Gaddafi Dead: Sons Speak Out Against 'Barbaric Executions'
Days after their father was captured and killed in his hometown of Sirte, the sons of Muammar Gaddafi have spoken out against the death of their father and have vowed to continue the struggle he left behind.
Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi, who appears to remain at large, appeared on the Syrian television station Al-Rai saying, “We continue our resistance. I’m in Libya, alive, free and intend to go to the very end to exact revenge.”
He added, “I say go to hell, you rats and NATO behind you. This is our country, we live in it, and we die in it and we are continuing the struggle.”
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National Transitional Council (NTC) members have claimed to have captured Saif, but with his appearance on television, many speculate that Gaddafi's London educated son that is wanted by the International Criminal Court remains at large.
Another of Gaddafi’s sons, Saadi Gaddafi, escaped to Nigeria in September as rebel forces were moving into Tripoli.
Saadi announced through his publicist, “These barbaric executions and the grotesque abuse of the corpses make it clear that no person affiliated with the former regime will receive a fair trial in Libya.”
Libya’s Prime Minister Abdul Jalil has expressed his “regret” over the death of Gaddafi.
NTC members hold that Gaddafi was “unintentionally” killed in crossfire and one member of the party told CNN that it would have been better that Gaddafi remained alive.
He said, “It would have been better for us Libyans, and the whole universe, to capture him and take him to a court and see how a dictator, a bad guy, who killed lots of Libyans and non-Libyan’s be judged in front of a court.”
Other international bodies and human rights groups have come out to condemn the “mob justice” that Gaddafi faced arguing that the slain leader might have faced unlawful execution.
Last week, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights said that the death of Gaddafi needed to be investigated as the circumstances surrounding his death remained “unclear.”
Human Rights Watch also called for an investigation into the death of Gaddafi saying on their website, “The willful killing of a person in custody is a serious violation of the laws of war and is a war crime that could be prosecuted by the International Criminal Court.”
Leaders such as U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Britain’s Defense Secretary Philip Hammond also called upon full investigations.
Hammond also said that the reputation of the ruling NTC has been “a little bit stained” with the way the wanted leader was handled upon capture.
