Gaddafi's Son And Heir Saif al-Islam Captured!

There were scenes of joy in Tripoli today after Muammar Gaddafi's son and heir apparent Saif al-Islam was captured in the southern desert of Libya. And he now faces the prospect of going on trial in Libya for serious crimes that carry the death penalty, according to justice officials.

Saif al-Islam, who had vowed to die fighting but was taken without a struggle, was apprehended overnight, officials said. He was arrested with several bodyguards near the town of Obari by fighters based in the western mountain town of Zintan. Libya's prime minister officially confirmed the capture of Muammar Gaddafi's son tonight, calling it the 'crowning' of the uprising's efforts and promising a fair trial for Saif al-Islam. 

'We assure Libyans and the world that Saif al-Islam will receive a fair trial... under fair legal processes which our own people had been deprived of for the last 40 years,' Abdurrahim El-Keib said, amid chants of 'Allahu Akbar' (God is greatest) at a news conference. 

A photograph, released earlier this afternoon, shows Saif al-Islam sat in a prison cell on a bed, under a blanket, with heavily bandaged fingers. 

It appears to reveal he is now missing several fingers on his right hand - backing up previous reports he had the digits blown off in an attack. After being apprehended, he was flown to Zintan, where, upon landing, a mob tried to storm his aircraft. He said he felt fine after being captured by some of the fighters who overthrew his father, and said injuries to his right hand were suffered during a Nato air strike a month ago. Asked on the plane which flew him to the town of Zintan if he was feeling all right, Gaddafi said simply: 'Yes.'

Reluctant to speak at length, the London-educated heir to Gaddafi was asked about bandages on the thumb and two fingers. 'Air force, air force,' he said. Asked if that meant a Nato air strike, he said: 'Yes. One month ago.' 'At the beginning he was very scared - he thought we would kill him," Ahmed Ammar, one of his captors, said.

The Zintan fighters, who make up one of Libya's most powerful militia factions that hold effective power in a country still without a government, said they planned to keep him in Zintan until they could hand him over to the authorities. Following news of his capture, Libya's interim justice minister confirmed that the younger Gaddafi could now face the death penalty if tried on home soil rather than by an international criminal court.

Asked what Libya planned for him, Mohammed al-Alagy said: 'He has instigated others to kill, has misused public funds, threatened and instigated and even took part in recruiting and bringing in mercenaries. 'This is just a small account of the crimes that the Libyan prosecutor general is going to bring against him.' Asked if such crimes carried the death penalty, Alagy said: 'Yes.It was created by Gaddafi.'

The International Criminal Court at The Hague indicted the younger Gaddafi for crimes against humanity relating to allegations that he ordered the killing of demonstrators after February's uprising. But Libyans want to try him at home for crimes allegedly committed over previous years.

The country's interim justice minister said Saif and several bodyguards were captured near the town of Obari, 400 miles south of Tripoli, by fighters based in the western mountain town of Zintan. They had been trying to flee to neighbouring Niger. No other senior figures from the ousted administration were caught. 'We have arrested Saif al-Islam Gaddafi in the Obari area,' Justice Minister Mohammed al-Alagy said.

He added that the 39-year-old, who is wanted for crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court at The Hague, was not injured.