But after the rest of his family fled, or were killed, he ended up being held in the city of Zintan for almost six years, sentenced to death by firing squad in absentia by a court in Tripoli during that time. The few pictures released in the last few years show he is missing fingers.
The BBC's John Simpson noticed he was missing part of a front tooth during one hearing early in his captivity. And he is also wanted by the International Criminal Court ICC , accused of crimes against humanity for his alleged role in the suppression of opposition protests in Born in , he played a key role in Libya's rapprochement with the West between and the uprising.
As head of the Gaddafi family's charity and allegedly the multi-billion dollar sovereign wealth fund, the Libyan Investment Authority LIA - although he denies this - Gaddafi had access to huge amounts of money, which he used to smooth relations with the West.
He was involved in the negotiations which led his father to abandon his nuclear weapons programme and later helped mediate the release of six Bulgarian medics accused of infecting children with HIV in a Libyan hospital.
He also negotiated compensation for the families of those killed in the Lockerbie bombing, the Berlin nightclub attack and the downing of UTA flight Again, he is said to have been involved in talks about the controversial decision to free from prison the man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing, Abdelbaset al-Megrahi.
After these agreements, international sanctions were lifted and with Gaddafi prominent both politically and economically, Libya seemed set to embark on an era of remarkable change. Its oil sector was starting to open up and Libya had agreed to tackle the growing flow of sub-Saharan African migrants through the country to Europe.
Mr Gaddafi owned a house in London and had links to British political figures as well as the Royal Family. He is known to have kept two tigers as pets and also enjoyed hunting with falcons in the deserts - a pastime traditionally enjoyed by Arab royals - and is a keen amateur painter.
Gaddafi, whose first names mean Sword of Islam, always denied that he was seeking to inherit power from his father, saying the reins of power were "not a farm to inherit". He also called for political reform - a theme he addressed in the doctorate he obtained the same year from the London School of Economics LSE. When his role in the crackdown against protesters was reported, LSE director Howard Davies resigned from his post after facing criticism for accepting donations from the charitable foundation led by the son of the then Libyan leader.
The University of London was asked to investigate the authenticity of Gaddafi's PhD thesis, amid reports it was plagiarised - but it decided it should not be revoked as "the thesis has been annotated to show where attribution or references should have been made," an LSE statement said.
He played a pivotal role in the nuclear negotiations with Western powers including the United States and the UK.
Also in negotiating compensation for families of victims of the Lockerbie bombing, the Berlin nightclub attack, and the UTA Flight , which detonated over the Sahara desert. He also mediated the release of six medics — five of whom were Bulgarian — who were accused of infecting children with HIV in Libya in the late s.
The medics were imprisoned for eight years in and, upon their release, announced that they had been tortured while in detention. He also hosted peace talks between the Philippines government and leaders of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which resulted in a peace agreement that was signed in Ajmi al-Atiri, the commander of the Abu Bakr al-Siddiq Battalion, was set to release a video statement explaining the details of the release.
Published On 11 Jun Join Us. Give Now. Click to expand Image. Independent international observers have not seen or heard from Gaddafi since June , and do not know his current whereabouts. Gaddafi is subject to an ICC arrest warrant to answer allegations of crimes against humanity in an investigation authorized by United Nations Security Council Resolution The Abu Baker al-Siddiq Brigade had held Gaddafi in Zintan since capturing him during his attempted escape from the country in November The Brigade is allied with the Interim Government, one of three authorities vying for legitimacy in Libya, and the Libyan National Army forces in eastern Libya.
Human Rights Watch was unable to reach either the Zintan brigade or representatives of the Interim Government for comment. The Brigade held Gaddafi incommunicado and subjected him to solitary confinement for long periods, which amounts to torture.
During the visit, Gaddafi said that he had not had access to a lawyer of his choosing and had been interrogated a number of times without legal counsel. The authorities established a closed-circuit video link to enable Gaddafi to participate from Zintan, but he was only able to join for 4 of the 25 trial sessions, according to the UN.
The court convicted and sentenced him to death in absentia on July 28, Al-Siddiq al-Sur, the chief prosecutor in the case, said that Gaddafi would have the right to a retrial once he was in the custody of the authorities in Tripoli.
In February , the UN issued a comprehensive report that concluded the criminal proceeding against Gaddafi and others failed to meet international fair trial standards. The law stipulates that those who commit crimes of terrorism, rape, torture, corruption, and murder by race or ethnicity may not receive an amnesty.
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