A Khadafy son is extradited to Libya from Niger

TRIPOLI, Libya— One of Moammar Khadafy’s sons, al-Saadi, was extradited on Thursday to Libya from Niger, where he had taken refuge as his father’s regime crumbled in 2011, bringing cheers from Libyans as the government prepares to prosecute him for his alleged role in trying to suppress the uprising against Khadafy’s rule.

Al-Saadi becomes the second son of the ousted and slain leader to be held in custody in Libya. His brother Seif al-Islam was captured in 2011 and has been held in a western mountain prison by a militia that is putting him on trial, refusing to hand him over to the central government for trial.

At the time of the revolt that brought down his father, al-Saadi headed a brigade of Special Forces that was involved in the crackdown against protesters and rebels. But he is perhaps even more notorious among Libyans for his dark career in soccer, the country’s most popular sport.

A playboy with a lavish lifestyle, al-Saadi treated the country’s soccer league as his personal fiefdom. He played for several Libyan teams — and for an Italian team until he failed a drug test. At various times, he headed the country’s soccer federation and its national team.

In one case, security forces opened fire on fans in a 1996 match attended by al-Saadi, killing a number of people in murky circumstances He is also suspected in the 2005 killing of Bashir al-Riyani, a popular Libyan soccer player who was a vocal critic of Khadafy’s regime. Libyans say that rules were set that the only player’s name that could be announced was al-Saadi’s — while others were identified only by numbers.

Cars honked horns in celebration in the streets of the capital, Tripoli, when his extradition was announced early hours in the morning. In the evening, fireworks went off as people cheered and waved flags in the street, according to footage on Libya’s Al-Ahrar TV. A group of soccer players held public memorial for al-Riyani.