A Libyan who helped capture former Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi last year died after being kidnapped and beaten by supporters of the longtime leader.
Omran Shaaban died of injuries that he sustained while in captivity, AFP reported. After the Libyan government negotiated his release earlier this month, he was flown to France for medical treatment, but died anyway. On Tuesday his body was flown to the coastal city of Misrata, where his family lives. More than 10,000 greeted his body at the airport.
Shaaban was kidnapped by gunmen from the town of Bani Walid, where pro-Gadhafi militants still reside. In July he and friends were traveling home to Misrata when they were ambushed by gunmen in the area of Bani Walid. They tried to escape, but Shaaban was shot in the neck and stomach, paralyzing him.
Shaaban’s face was captured on video footage and photographs that were taken during Gadhafi’s capture nearly a year ago. The former leader was killed soon after.
“I plan to pursue his rights legally and join if there is a military incursion. We are going to death,” his brother, Walid Shaaban, told The Associated Press.
The rebels of Bani Walid, a town of around 100,000, are said to be heavily armed, with rocket-propelled grenades, automatic rifles, and artillery that was stockpiled during the civil war last year.
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