Finally, Saif al Islam, the last of Qadaffi's sons and his heir apparent has been captured and is in custody. He was caught by troops of the Libyan Transitional National Authority while attempting to flee across the Niger border.
The news of his capture was cheered by Libyans,
The announcement by Maigeta, made at a news conference at the Radisson hotel in the Libyan capital, was greeted with celebratory gunfire, singing and dancing.
Scenes of joy broke out in the streets as the news was announced on Libyan television, and people hung out of the windows of their cars, honking horns, flashing lights and flying the red, black and green revolutionary tricolor. Cries of “Allahu Akbar” filled the air as crowds hugged each other and wept.
His capture not only brings the Qadaffi era to a complete end but will give the Libyans the opportunity to try him in a public judicial proceeding, a forum that can reveal the evils of that forty year regime. It should be a cathartic event that enables the Libyans to move into a brighter future.