Saadi Gaddafi extradited from Niger

Col. Muammar Gaddafi’s son, Saadi, has been extradited from Niger and is now in custody in Tripoli, the Libyan government says.

Pictures posted on the internet showed Saadi Gaddafi, one of Col. Muammar Gaddafi’s seven sons, having his head and beard shaved.

Saadi Gaddafi, the former head of Libya’s football federation, fled to Niger after his father was killed in the 2011 revolution.

He is accused of shooting protesters and other crimes during Muammar Gaddafi’s rule.

The Libyan government made an announcement about Saadi Gaddafi’s extradition in a short statement early on Thursday.

“The Libyan government received today Saadi Gaddafi and he arrived in Tripoli,” it said.

The plane with Saadi Gaddafi landed at 02:50 local time.

Niger had previously refused Libyan requests to extradite him, with the justice minister saying he was “certain to face the death penalty”.

In 2012, Interpol issued a “red notice”, obliging member countries to arrest him.

Saadi Gaddafi had reportedly resided in a state guesthouse in Niger’s capital, Niamey, after fleeing across the Sahara Desert. He is best known for a brief career in top-flight Italian football which was cut short by a failed drugs test, as well as his playboy lifestyle.