Colonel Ghaddafi’s son released from prison: lawyer

Libyan military dictator Colonel Ghaddafi’s son Saif al Islam has been released from custody months after a Tripoli court sentence him to death.

His death sentence was canceled by Libya’s new UN backed government, the Guardian reported.

Saif, 44, was sentenced to death in July last year in a mass trial for war crimes which included charges for killing protesters.

His lawyer Karim Khan said that Saif was at an undisclosed location after being released from a five-year-long house arrest in Zintan province.

“He’s been released from Zintan detention. The release, I’m told, was on 12 April – there was an order from the central government,” said Khan. “He’s in Libya, he’s in good health, he’s safe and he’s well.”

The claim was not verified independently.

Saif was captured in the Sahara desert trying to flee to Niger after his father was killed by rebels in 2011.

He supported his father’s eight-month long civil war, often appearing on television speaking out against the rebels.

Libya's new UN-backed unity government, set up in Tripoli three months ago, is trying to bring together the various factions struggling for control of Libya and its oil resources.

Brigades of former rebels backing rival political factions remain the main power brokers in Libya, where the unity government has struggled to exert its influence.

Islamic State has also gained ground in the chaos.