Debate reemerges in Libya over fate of Qaddafi’s corpse

Debate erupted once again in Libya over the fate of the corpse of late leader Muammar al-Qaddafi.

Former Libyan Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Mohammed Saeed al-Qashat told Russia’s Sputnik news agency that the location of his grave is not known.

His corpse was handed over to the Misrata brigades after his death in 2011 and placed inside a mortuary freezer for a week. It was then washed and prayers were performed. Afterwards, nothing is known of its fate, he said.

Despite demands made by some of his relatives and Libyan tribal leaders, the Misrata brigades did not disclose the location of the burial and no Libyan side has been able to obtain information on the matter, he continued.

After his death, Libyan authorities planned to bury Qaddafi in an undisclosed location. His Gaddafa tribe demanded the national transition council, which was ruling the country at the time, to hand over the corpse to it.

The graves of the Qaddafi family in Sirte have been vandalized in the past.

An elder of the Qaddafi tribe expressed to Asharq Al-Awsat the family’s anger at bringing up the fate of Qaddafi’s corpse once again.

He said, on condition of anonymity, that at the time of his death, Qaddafi’s relatives demanded from head of the national transition council, Mustafa Abduljalil, that his corpse be handed over to them.

He was however powerless and could not fulfill their demand, he added.

This article was first published here.