Gaddafi’s son excluded from Libya's presidential race: Source

By Mohammad Erteima

TRIPOLI, Libya (AA) – Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of Libya's former strongman Muammar Gaddafi, has been excluded from running for president in the upcoming Libyan elections, an informed Libyan source said on Wednesday.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity as he is not authorized to speak to the media, told Anadolu Agency that the decision by the Libyan judiciary was made as Gaddafi was handed a final court ruling over committing war crimes.

The source also said that Gaddafi is yet to submit an evident that the court ruling was annulled or dropped.

In 2011, a Libyan armed group arrested Gaddafi and he was imprisoned in the Alzintan city, western Libya. He was later put on trial before the Libyan judiciary.

Also in 2011, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against Gaddafi on charges of committing crimes against humanity in Libya.

In 2015, a death sentence was pronounced against him over committing war crimes while suppressing the revolution against his father's rule, but the sentence was not executed.

Libya’s presidential and parliamentary elections are set to be held on Dec. 24 under an UN-sponsored agreement reached by Libyan political rivals during meetings in Tunisia on Nov. 15, 2020.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara