ICC prosecutor calls for 'arrest and surrender' of Gaddafi's son, Saif al-Islam

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has called for the arrest of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the second son of late Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi, who was reportedly freed after six years in jail.

He is wanted by the ICC on charges of crimes against humanity during his father’s unsuccessful attempts to put down the rebellion that eventually led to the fall of his regime.

“I call on Libya and all other states, if in a position to do so, to immediately arrest and surrender Mr Gaddafi to the ICC,” prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said in a statement adding that her office was trying to verify his release as reported.

The Abu Bakr al-Siddiq Battalion militia had been holding him in the town of western town of Zintan since November 2011. His release was announced last Friday under what is believed to be an amnesty law.

Even though his whereabouts remain unknown days after the release. The amnesty law under which he was released was passed by a parliament based in eastern Libya in a move to reduce instability in the country.

But the United Nations-backed Tripoli government has slammed the release.

A Tripoli court sentenced him to death in 2015 for war crimes, including killing protesters during the revolution that toppled his father.

The 44-year-old Saif was the public face of the Gaddafi regime and was labeled a preferred heir to his father.