Libya leader says Gaddafi should have been caught alive

Daily Mail

TRIPOLI, Oct 24: As Libya announced its official liberation from Colonel Gaddafi’s 42-year rule yesterday, the nation’s new leader said he wished the hated despot was still alive. Prime minister Mahmoud Jibril (left) said he would have preferred to see Gaddafi put on trial for his crimes. ‘I want to know why he did this to the Libyan people,’ Mr Jibril explained. ‘I wish I were his prosecutor in his trial, because this is the question in everybody’s mind: Why? ‘Did the Libyan people deserve what he did throughout 42 years of oppression, of killing, of everything?’ Britain yesterday urged the new Libyan government to investigate the killing of Gaddafi last week. Defence Secretary Philip Hammond said the reputation of the ruling National Transitional Council had been ‘a little bit stained’ by the way the dictator died at the hands of his captors. SECONDS FROM DEATH ... In this image taken from newly-released video, Gaddafi appears to clutch at his throat as the pistol is pressed against his head Graphic footage broadcast around the world from the scene showed a wounded and bleeding Gaddafi being manhandled by fighters loyal to the NTC before apparently being shot. But few in Libya were mourning Gaddafi’s passing yesterday as the Libyan people finally declared themselves liberated. Tens of thousands joined in scenes of wild jubilation nationwide as the country’s interim government brought a formal close to eight months of bloodshed to unseat the dictator and his family. They started the countdown to democracy by announcing there would be elections within months. The long-awaited declaration of liberation came more than two months after revolutionary forces swept into Tripoli and seized control of most of the oil-rich nation. The end was delayed by fierce resistance from Gaddafi loyalists in his hometown of Sirte, as well as in Bani Walid and pockets in  the south. At a ceremony in the eastern city of Benghazi, where the revolution began, Mr Jibril declared the defeat of Gaddafi a ‘great moment’, but he warned the Libyan people to remember the agony of the past and choose a different path for the future. NO MORE DANGER ... The body of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in a huge commercial freezer Misrata, Libya, where thousands waited in turn to catch a glimpse. With Gaddafi gone, he said, the NTC must move swiftly to transform the country into a democracy. The vast majority of Libyans appear glad Gaddafi is dead. Many think it will allow the nation to move forward without fear that his supporters will try to sabotage the transition to democracy. But the UN and Amnesty International have demanded an investigation into evidence suggesting the former leader was summarily executed after being captured alive. A bullet hole in Gaddafi’s left temple has been hidden from view by his head being tilted to one side in the freezer room where his body is on show to the public. A blanket also hides the bruises on his torso and scratch marks on his chest that had earlier been visible.