CNN Editorial Research

(CNN) — Here is a look at the life of Saif al-Islam Gadhafi, son of late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.

Personal

Birth date: June 25, 1972

Birth place: Tripoli, Libya

Birth name: Saif al-Islam Gadhafi

Father: Moammar Gadhafi, leader of Libya 1969-2011

Mother: Safia (Farkash) Gadhafi

Education: El-Fateh University, Libya, architectural engineering, 1994; Imadec University, Vienna, Austria, M.B.A., 2000; London School of Economics, Ph.D., 2008

Military service: Libyan military, November 1994-November 1995

Other Facts

Second son of Moammar Gadhafi.

Wrote his Ph.D. thesis on “The Role of Civil Society in the Democratization of Global Governance Institutions.” There are allegations that parts of the thesis were plagiarized.

Has been described as having close relationships with British politicians and aristocracy.

Prior to the 2011 Libyan civil war, he was believed to be a moderate in comparison to his father.

A NATO strike in May 2011 killed his younger brother who had a similar name, Saif al-Arab Gadhafi.

Was held in the Libyan city of Zintan by a militia group from November 2011 to June 2017.

Is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged crimes against humanity.

Timeline

August 2008 - Announces in a speech on state television that he is withdrawing from politics, stating, “I have decided not to intervene in state affairs.”

August 2009 - Escorts released Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi on a private plane back to Libya.

February 21, 2011 - Addresses the Libyan nation about the country’s unrest in an unscripted, televised speech, and warns of civil war and poverty if citizens side with anti-Libyan government protesters.

June 27, 2011 - Arrest warrants are issued by the ICC for Saif al-Islam and his father for crimes against humanity committed since the revolt of the Libyan people.

August 21, 2011 - Along with Saadi Gadhafi, another of Moammar Gadhafi’s sons, Gadhafi is reportedly detained by opposition forces.

August 23, 2011 - Gadhafi shows up at the Rixos Hotel, quashing the rebels’ claim that he and his two brothers are in their custody. In a brief interview with CNN’s Matthew Chance, he says his father and several of his sisters are safe in Tripoli.

August 31, 2011 - Gives an interview to Rai TV in Syria. He says of his father, “the leader is fine” and “we will have victory soon” and that “everyone is Moammar Gadhafi. Wherever you see the enemy, attack them. They are weak, they have suffered lots of losses and they are now licking their wounds.”

October 20, 2011 - Moammar Gadhafi dies of a gunshot wound to the head after being captured by rebel forces in his hometown of Sirte, Libya. Mutassim, another of Moammar Gadhafi’s sons, is also killed.

October 28, 2011 - Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the ICC’s chief prosecutor, confirms that the ICC is having “informal conversations” about the surrender of Gadhafi.

November 19, 2011 - Gadhafi is captured after a firefight in southern Libya.

April 5, 2012 - The ICC announces Libya must hand over Gadhafi immediately to be tried at The Hague. Libya appeals the ICC order on April 10, saying it should be given more time to make its own case.

June 8, 2012 - A delegation of four from the ICC is detained in Libya for attempting to get documents to Gadhafi. The ICC staff members are freed on July 2, 2012.

October 9, 2012 - The Libyan government argues that it should not have to hand over Gadhafi to the ICC because the court does not have jurisdiction in the case.

May 31, 2013 - The ICC rejects Libya’s bid to try Gadhafi and asks the nation to hand him over.

April 27, 2014 - Gadhafi appears via video link from a courtroom in the Libyan city of Zintan for his trial in Tripoli. The militiamen who captured Gadhafi in 2011 refuse to hand him over to the central government, citing security concerns.

May 21, 2014 - The ICC Appeals Chamber rejects all four of Libya’s appeals and upholds an earlier decision that Libya hand over Gadhafi.

July 28, 2015 - A court in Tripoli sentences Gadhafi to death in absentia. Gadhafi is not at the trial.

June 10, 2017 - The Abu Bakr al-Sideeq militia says in a statement that Gadhafi, whom they have held since 2011, was released under a “General Amnesty Law” passed by Libya’s House of Representatives.

April 5, 2019 - The ICC rules that the case against Gadhafi is admissible. In June 2018, Gadhafi’s defense filed an admissibility challenge, asserting that Gadhafi had been convicted by the Tripoli Criminal Court in 2015 for similar offenses, and had been released “on or around April 12, 2016,” under a law granting general amnesty.

March 9, 2020 - The Appeals Chamber of the ICC rejects Gadhafi’s appeal and unanimously confirms that the case against him is admissible.

November 14, 2021 - Gadhafi registers as a presidential candidate, appearing for nearly the first time in a decade.

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