Killing of Muammar Gaddafi
The killing of Muammar Gaddafi took place on 20 October 2011 after the Battle of Sirte. Muammar Gaddafi, the deposed leader of Libya, was captured by NTC forces and executed shortly afterwards.[1]
Killing of Muammar Gaddafi
The NTC initially claimed Gaddafi succumbed to injuries sustained in a firefight when loyalist forces attempted to free him, although a video of his last moments shows rebel fighters beating him and one of them sodomizing him with a bayonet[2] before he was shot several times.[3]
The killing of Gaddafi was criticized as a violation of international law.[4][5] Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch called for an independent autopsy and an investigation into how Gaddafi died.[6]
Concurrent capture or death of relatives and associates[edit]
National Transitional Council officials also announced that one of Gaddafi's sons, Mutassim, once the Libyan national security advisor, was killed in Sirte the same day. A video later surfaced showing Mutassim's body lying in an ambulance.[52] A video aired on Al Arrai television showed Mutassim alive and talking to his captors. The circumstances of his death are unclear.[53]
Another son, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, was captured almost a month after his father's death, while trying to flee to Nigeria.[54]
Footage had emerged earlier on 20 October 2011 showing the body of Gaddafi's defence minister, Yunis Jabr. Abdul Hakim Al Jalil, the commander of the NTC's 11th Brigade, stated that former Gaddafi spokesman Moussa Ibrahim had been captured near Sirte. Reports indicate that Ahmed Ibrahim, one of Gaddafi's cousins, was also captured.[55]
Subsequent events[edit]
Calls for investigation[edit]
Numerous organizations, including the United Nations and the U.S. and UK governments, have called for an investigation of the exact circumstances of Gaddafi's death,[56] amid controversy that it was an extrajudicial killing and a war crime.[57][58] The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, had said there should be a full investigation.[59]
The UN Human Rights Office spokesperson said that he expects the UN commission already investigating potential human rights abuse in Libya would look into the case.[53] Waheed Burshan, a member of the NTC, said that an investigation should happen.[60]
On 24 October 2011, the NTC announced that it had ordered an investigation in response to the international calls[36] and that it would prosecute the killers if the investigation showed he died after his capture.[61]
Almost a year later, on 17 October 2012, new evidence was revealed by Human Rights Watch showing that mass killings occurred at the site of Gaddafi's death.[62]
Regional ramifications[edit]
In its immediate aftermath, the controversial killing of Gaddafi was thought to have significant implications in the Middle East, as a critical part of the wider "Arab Spring".[63][64] Former CIA analyst Bruce Riedel speculated that the death would intensify protesting in Syria and Yemen, and French officials stated that because of this they were "watching the Algerian situation".[65]
Vengeance[edit]
Omran Shaban, the Misrata fighter who discovered Gaddafi in the drain pipe and who had posed in photos with his golden gun, was captured by Green Resistance soldiers in Bani Walid. He was then paralysed and severely tortured. The interim president of Libya secured his release but he died some days later from his wounds in France.[66][67]
Alleged Syrian government involvement[edit]
About a year after Gaddafi's death, the former head of foreign relations from the NTC, Rami el-Obeidi, alleged that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad offered Gaddafi's phone number to French intelligence, which ultimately led Gaddafi to be tracked and later killed. He says that "[i]n exchange for this information, Assad had obtained a promise of a grace period from the French and less political pressure on the regime – which is what happened".[68] However, The Telegraph, who originally reported the story, could not verify Obeidi's allegations.[68] Furthermore, French defence analyst and former intelligence officer, Eric Dénécé, referred to Obeidi's allegations as "patent nonsense", citing the fact that "in November 2011 France's stance towards Syria actually toughened, with Paris being the first country to recognise the rebel Syrian National Council".[69] He also stated that "France did not need Syria's help to track Gaddafi and Assad would certainly not have sold [Gaddafi's] telephone number in such a way."[69]
Syria strongly rejected any foreign involvement in Libya and was one of the only Arab League member states to vote against a request to the UN for a no-fly zone within Libyan airspace.[70][71][72]