Gaddafi son ‘should not be shot out of hand’

Mohammed al-Alagi said he did not want Saif al-Islam, now on the run, to meet the same fate as his father, who was beaten and shot dead after forces of Libya’s National Transitional Council captured him on 20 October.

But he said anything could happen if there was a battle when Saif al-Islam was found.

“It depends when and where they got him. If he was under fire, in crossfire, for example, nobody could guarantee he would survive. But if they arrested him, I think he would be safe,” Mr Alagi said.

National Transitional Council officials have said Muammar al-Gaddafi was killed in crossfire, but widely circulated video footage showed him alive in the hands of captors.

“It’s better if he [Saif al-Islam] faces trial in Libya, but that needs guarantees of a fair trial of international standards.

“The Libyan justice system should try him here first and then, if he needs to, he can face international justice,” Mr Alagi said.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) wants to try the 39-year-old for crimes against humanity.

Its prosecutor said on Sunday that he had “substantial evidence” that the London-educated Saif al-Islam had helped hire mercenaries to attack Libyan protesters against his father’s 42-year rule.

Mr Alagi said he would like to see him tried by the Hague-based court to show the world what he had done, but said the legal process would depend largely on where he was found.

“If he’s in Libya we will arrest him. If he’s outside, the ICC will arrest him. If he’s in a country that has signed the Rome statute [that set up the court], he will be arrested. I’m not worried that he’ll escape,” he said.

Saif al-Islam may be heading for Niger, which risks upsetting its own pro-Gaddafi Tuareg nomads if it hands him over to the ICC in line with its treaty obligations.