Saif al Islam al Gadhafi, the second oldest son of Libyan leader Muammar Qadaffi, has seen his months-long efforts to negotiate peace between Libya and the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG) end with an agreement that lies behind the freeing Tuesday 23 March of three top leaders and scores of members of the group. The LIFG, whose leaders had been closely aligned with al-Qaeda, in September 2009 ended 20 years of fighting with Libya, and its leaders wrote a new jihad code of ethics that refutes some of the more extreme behaviour endorsed by al-Qaeda.Reuters AlertNet reports Saif as saying that all prisoners at the Abu Salim prison will be released soon and the prison open to the public. “Saif, who was instrumental in negotiating Libya's emergence from international isolation in the past decade, said some of the 214 prisoners had been kept in jail even after they were acquitted by the courts or finished their sentences,' reports Reuters.
Libya's ambassador to France Salah Zarem Tuesday told Swiss public radio RSR that Max Goeldi, held at another prison, Al Jadaida, will be released when he finishes serving his four-month prison term. He was sentenced by a Libyan court for visa violations.