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Niger government ready to extradite Muammar Gaddafi’s son to International Criminal Court in Hague

According to the former Libyan leader’s son, in Libya “the revolt has started, and it is spreading with every passing day”

RABAT, February 12 (Itar-Tass) — The Niger government is ready to extradite the son of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, Saadi, to the International Criminal Court, if The Hague demands this. This statement was made by the country’s Justice Minister Maru Amadu.

Saadi Gaddafi was arrested in Niger on February 11 when on Friday, speaking in an interview with the Arabia TV channel, he warned of an inevitable uprising in Libya against new authorities. Saadi said that he maintains contacts with fellow countrymen, among whom there are many dissatisfied with the present ruling administration.

According to the former Libyan leader’s son, “the revolt has started, and it is spreading with every passing day”.

Following this, the Libyan Interim National Council again demanded that the Niger government should “extradite immediately” Saadi to Tripoli as well as “other refugees” who had served the former regime. A spokesman of the Niger government confirmed that the demand on his extradition was indeed received. However, it refused to extradite Saadi.

The Niger leadership again explained its decision by a premise that it “will extradite Saadi Gaddafi to the Libyan authorities only when there is confidence that independent and unbiased justice will wait for him in the country”.

In turn, a representative of the Libyan Interim National Council noted that the Niger leadership should act with respect to Saadi Gaddafi as in Algeria where the daughter of the former Libyan leader, Aishe, and other his relatives are forbidden to make statements in public and “provoke a great number of problems”.

Saadi went to Niger in September. The uprising against the Gaddafi regime will mark one year next week. The Libyan leader was brutally killed by insurgents near his native city of Sirt in October.

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