Libya: Gaddafi mouthpiece caught 'fleeing dressed as a woman'

Moussa Ibrahim, the mouthpiece of the Gaddafi regime, was captured last night outside the birthplace of the former dictator, according to commanders of the National Transitional Council's forces

Captured: Moussa Ibrahim Photo: AP

By Ben Farmer, Tripoli

11:48PM BST 29 Sep 2011

There were also unconfirmed reports that Ibrahim was dressed as a woman as he attempted to flee Sirte, which has been the scene of heavy fighting for several days.

A commander for the NTC's Zintan brigade said: "Moussa Ibrahim was captured while driving outside Sirte by fighters from Misurata." Ibrahim became a fixture on news bulletins from the first week of the uprising, lecturing the foreign media from a conference room at the Rixos Hotel in Tripoli on the iniquities of Nato and the West.

Like Col Muammar Gaddafi, his whereabouts had been unknown until yesterday.

His capture came as forces loyal to the transitional government seized the airport in Sirte, moving through the partly destroyed buildings tearing down symbols of the Gaddafi era.

Meanwhile, an Interpol arrest warrant was issued for Gaddafi's son Saadi, who escaped to Niger, but the country's prime minister there said he would not be extradited.

Speaking in France, Brigi Rafini said Saadi was safe and "in the hands of the Niger government" in the capital Niamey. "There's no question of him being extradited to Libya for the moment," Mr Rafini said, adding that he would not receive a fair trial if sent home.

Interpol's "red notice" for Saadi's arrest said he was wanted on allegations of misappropriating properties through force and armed intimidation when he headed the Libyan Football Federation.

A 2009 American diplomatic cable described Saadi as the black sheep of Gaddafi's sons with "a troubled past" including scuffles with police in Europe, "abuse of drugs and alcohol, excessive partying" and "profligate affairs with men and women".

Saadi twice played for Italian Serie A teams, though he was banned for failing a drugs test, before running the football federation. He also played for Tripoli's main club. Saadi was also a special forces commander and is under United Nations sanctions for commanding units which brutally repressed the revolution.

Gaddafi's former prime minister, Al-Baghdadi Ali al-Mahmoudi, has begun a prison hunger strike to prevent his extradition from Tunisia, his lawyer said yesterday.