Libya leader orders investigation of Gadhafi death

Libya leader orders investigation of Gadhafi death

Libyan Transitional National Council chairman Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, right, and Ali Tarhouni, Libyan National Transitional Council's minister for Oil and Finance, second left, greet Libyan veterans during a press conference in Benghazi, Libya, Monday Oct. 24, 2011.

TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) -- With Libyans lining up to view Moammar Gadhafi's rotting corpse for a fourth day, the country's interim leader promised Monday to investigate how the longtime dictator was captured alive then killed a short time later after he came under strong international pressure to explain what happened.

Mustafa Abdul-Jalil said at a news conference in the eastern city of Benghazi that the National Transitional Council has formed a committee to investigate Thursday's killing amid conflicting reports of how the dictator who ruled Libya for 42 years died. Government officials have said initial findings suggest Gadhafi was killed in the crossfire as his supporters clashed with revolutionary forces seizing control of his hometown of Sirte.

But Abdul-Jalil raised a new possibility on Monday, suggesting that Gadhafi could have been killed by his own supporters to prevent him from implicating them in past misdeeds under his regime.

"Let us question who has the interest in the fact that Gadhafi will not be tried. Libyans want to try him for what he did to them, with executions, imprisonment and corruption," he said. "Free Libyans wanted to keep Gadhafi in prison and humiliate him as long as possible. Those who wanted him killed were those who were loyal to him or had played a role under him, his death was in their benefit."

The U.S., Britain and international rights groups have called for an investigation into whether Libya's former rebels killed a wounded Gadhafi after pulling him out of a drainage pipe in his hometown of Sirte, the last city to fall to revolutionary forces after an 8-month civil war.

Critics also have said the gruesome spectacle of his blood-streaked body laid out as a trophy for public viewing - flanked by his slain son Muatassim and former defense chief Abu Bakr Younis - in a commercial freezer raises questions about the new leadership's commitment to the rule of law.

Several dozen people filed through the freezer to see the bodies on Monday, including a woman with five small children. Gadhafi was wrapped in a white, bloodstained sheet covered by a brown blanket that was bundled around him with a string. His head was turned so the fatal bullet wound was not visible, although there was a small spot of crusted blood on his forehead.

Armed guards in the freezer rushed people through, giving them about 30 seconds to look. Misrata was besieged by Gadhafi loyalists for weeks in the spring, coming under heavy shelling at the time, and its residents are eager for revenge.

A spokesman for the Misrata military council said he expected the bodies to be buried on Tuesday.

"It's 90 percent sure that Gadhafi will be buried tomorrow in an unmarked grave in a secret location," Ibrahim Beit al-Mal told The Associated Press, saying revolutionary forces don't want his grave to be turned into a shrine.

Abdul-Jalil said earlier that the transitional government has established a committee to determine what ultimately to do with Gadhafi's body and the decisions will be governed by a fatwa, or religious edict, by the head of the Islamic Fatwa society.

Libya's revolt erupted in February as part of anti-government protests spreading across the Middle East. But Libya's struggle has been the bloodiest so far in the region. Mass protests turned into a civil war that killed thousands and paralyzed the country. Gadhafi loyalists held out for two more months after the fall of the capital of Tripoli in late August.

Abdul-Jalil declared the country liberated on Sunday, launching the oil-rich nation on what is meant to be a two-year transition to democracy. But he also laid out plans with an Islamist tone that could rattle their Western backers. He said Islamic Sharia law would be the "basic source" of legislation, and that existing laws that contradict the teachings of Islam would be nullified.

Using Sharia as the main source of legislation is stipulated in the constitution of neighboring Egypt. Still, Egyptian laws remain largely secular as Egypt's interpretation of Sharia does not cover all aspects of modern life, while Saudi Arabia and Iran apply much more strict interpretations.

Abdul-Jalil also outlined several changes to align with Islamic law such as banning banks from paying interest and lifting restrictions on the number of wives Libyan men can take. The Muslim holy book, the Quran, allows men up to four wives.

Mindful of the concern, Abdul-Jalil said Monday he was referring to a temporary constitution and said he wanted to "assure the international community that we as Libyans are moderate Muslims."

He also said there will be a referendum on a new constitution after it is drawn up.

Islamist groups stand to gain ground in neighboring Tunisia and Egypt as well, after they shook off longtime dictators.

Libyan leaders have said they will form a new interim government within a month of liberation and hold elections for a constitutional assembly within eight months after that.

Concern about human rights violations clouded the declaration of liberation by Libya's new leaders on Sunday.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch warned Monday of a "trend of killings, looting and other abuses" by those who fought Gadhafi after finding 53 decomposing bodies, apparently of Gadhafi loyalists, some of whom it said may have been executed by revolutionary forces.

The bodies were found on the lawn of the abandoned Mahari hotel in Sirte, and some had their hands bound. HRW researcher Peter Bouckaert said the hotel had come under the control of fighters from Misrata before the killings took place.

The condition of the bodies suggested the men were killed between Oct. 15-19, the group said. Bloodstains on the grass and spent cartridges indicated some were shot and killed at the spot they were discovered.

"This latest massacre seems part of a trend of killings, looting, and other abuses committed by armed anti-Gadhafi fighters who consider themselves above the law," Bouckaert said in a statement. "It is imperative that the transitional authorities take action to rein in these groups."

The group called on Libyan authorities to conduct an immediate investigation.

Several videos have emerged showing Gadhafi was alive when he was captured and taunted and beaten by revolutionary fighters on the scene. The Boston-based international news site GlobalPost posted a video showing Gadhafi's captors ramming a stick into his buttocks through his pants.

One Gadhafi son, Muatassim, also was killed, but the former leader's one-time heir apparent, Seif al-Islam, apparently escaped with some of his supporters.