MUAMMAR GADDAFI’S daughter Aisha has given birth to a baby girl just one day after fleeing to Algeria, according to Algeria’s Health Ministry.
Gaddafi’s wife Safia and sons Hannibal and Mohammed crossed the border into Algeria alongside Aisha yesterday. The pregnancy was cited by Algerian news organisations as one of the reasons Algeria accepted the family.
Aisha Gaddafi, a lawyer, was part of the defence team representing ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein during the trial which followed his capture by US forces. Hussein was hanged after being convicted of crimes against humanity and sentenced to execution.
The Iraqi trial and sentencing were criticised by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International as ‘flawed’ and ‘inhumane’.
Gaddafi was also appointed the United Nations Development Programme Goodwill Ambassador for Libya in 2009, but her position was later terminated by the organisation.
Libya’s National Transitional Council has called for the family’s expulsion back to Libya to face trial. Yesterday, the NTC’s spokesperson Ahmen Bani said he was not surprised to hear that Algeria had welcomed the Gaddafi family.
An Algerian newspaper reported today that the country was partially closing its border with Libya.
Rebels, who have ordered a ceasefire during the Eid festival marking the end of Ramadan, have issued a deadline for the surrender of forces loyal to Gaddafi. Gaddafi and some of his other sons have not been located by rebel forces.
Rebels have been posing for photos with a golden mermaid couch in the Gaddafi compound. The face of the mermaid was modelled on Aisha (Image: AP Photo/Sergey Ponomarev/PA):
- Additional reporting by the AP
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