Niger hands over Gaddafi's son Saadi to Libya

TRIPOLI

The Libyan authorities received in the early hours of Thursday the fugitive son of late strongman Muammer Gaddafi from neighboring Niger, according to a statement by the Libyan government, in response to a months-long demand by Tripoli.

"Saadi Gaddafi had arrived in Libya and is currently in custody of the judicial police," the statement said, adding that a more detailed statement about the matter will be released shortly.

The Libyan government thanked its Nigerien counterpart for extraditing Saadi Gaddafi, who is being wanted in Libya on corruption charges, and vowed to treat him "in line with international standards of dealing with prisoners."

Saadi Gaddai had fled to Niger in September 2011, one month before the killing of his father and the subsequent fall of his regime.

Libya's southern neighbor Niger, which had granted Saadi Gaddafi asylum for "humanitarian reasons," had repeatedly rejected Tripoli's demand to extradite him in spite of an arrest warrant issued by the InterPol in response to Libya's request.

Saadi Gaddafi faces an array of corruption charges in Libya, including forceful misappropriation of property.

englishnews@aa.com.tr