Saif Al-Islam to Receive Fair Trial - Libya's Ambassador to Bulgaria

The new NTC Libyan Ambassador to Sofia, Issa Omar Ashur, during his first press conference in Sofia in September. Photo by BGNES

Late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi's most powerful son, Saif al-Islam, will receive a fair trial in his home country, Libya's interim Ambassador to Bulgaria, Issa Omar Ashur, has declared.

Saif al-Islam's recent capture marks "the beginning of a new page in Libya's history", Ashur said on Monday, as cited by the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency.

The son of the former Libyan strongman will have the right to a legal defense, even though the Libyan people were deprived of that right during his father's rule, the interim Ambassador has pointed out.

Gaddafi's most powerful son succeeded in misleading the people of Libya that he was willing to carry out a number of reforms and modernize the country, according to the diplomat. He was actively involved in the wave of violence against the Libyan nation during the past eight months and is aware of all secrets kept by his father's regime, Ashur has added.

The trial against Saif al-Islam should be seen as a symbolic trial against the whole previous regime, the Libyan diplomat further stated.

Saif al-Islam, the last key Gaddafi family member to be seized or killed, is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on charges of crimes against humanity. However, Libyan authorities have declared that they have no intention to hand Gaddafi to the Court and that he is going to be tried in Libya.