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The Libyan government says former leader Col Muammar Gaddafi's son, Saadi, has been extradited
from Niger and is now in custody in Tripoli. Pictures posted on the internet apparently
showed him having his head and beard shaved. Saadi Gaddafi fled after his father was killed
in the 2011 revolution. He is accused of shooting protesters and other
crimes during his father's rule, when he was head of Libya's special forces.
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. 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.