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Tripoli: Saif al-Islam, son of Muammar Gaddafi,
who was reported to have been captured by Libyan opposition forces
on Sunday, has made a public appearance in Tripoli, AFP news
agency reported.
"I am here to refute the lies," Saif
al-Islam, wanted by the International Criminal Court [ICC] for
crimes against humanity, said on Monday, referring to reports of
his arrest.
Saif also traveled to the Rixos
Hotel late on Monday night and spoke to foreign journalists
staying there.
Television footage showed him
pumping his fists in the air, smiling, waving and shaking hands
with supporters, as well as holding his arms aloft with each hand
making the "V" for victory sign.
Gaddafi's son told journalists that
Tripoli, which has been largely overrun in the past 24 hours by
rebel forces seeking to topple his father, was in fact in
government hands and that his father was safe.
Saif also said that Tripoli was
under government control and that he did not care about an arrest
warrant issued by the ICC in The Hague seeking him and his father
for crimes against humanity.
When asked if his father was safe
and well in Tripoli, Saif said, "Of course".
Earlier, armed pro-Gaddafi security
men guarding the hotel took a small group of journalists to
Gaddafi's Bab al-Azizyah compound, where they had a meeting with
Saif.
They returned to the hotel
accompanied by Saif, who then spoke to journalists in the lobby
before taking some of them back to the compound a short distance
away for a brief visit.
Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the ICC
prosecutor, had earlier said the 39-year-old was arrested and in
detention.
Earlier on Monday, rebel forces
arrested Saadi Gaddafi, the third son of Gaddafi.
Saadi Gaddafi's capture, in the
capital Tripoli, came as the whereabouts of other relatives and
senior Libyan officials remained unknown.
Waheed Burshan, an NTC member told
Al Jazeera, "We had confirmation Saif al-Islam was arrested, but
we have no idea how he escaped."
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