Tripoli – Emad Agag
Ali el-Gizawy, son of the Libyan chancellor Gomaa el-Gizawy who was assassinated on Thursday, accused followers of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, of killing his father. El-Gizawy junior said that his father was killed by the front door of his house, as he left to perform el-Asr (afternoon) prayers, adding that he was wounded by a bullet fired from a sniper’s rifle which pierced his chest. He asserted that his family will not react in any way that might destabilise the country. Abdel-Fattah Younis Mutasim, a son of Gaddafi, said that the Obeidat tribe to which his father belonged, had nothing to do with the assassination whatsoever. Mutasim deflected the accusation by saying that the Transitional Council bears full responsibility as it published the names of those accused in the assassination of his father in the media. Chancellor Gomaa Hassan el-Gizawy was one of those accused of the assassination of the Chief of Staff of the Libyan army during the War of Liberation Major General Abdel-Fattah Younis, and that el-Gizawy ordered the capture of Younis before his death. Head of Preventive Security Service, Mohammed Radwan, said that investigations are still underway to determine the killer, pointing out that security in Benghazi city is stable and they will not allow "Gaddafi’s thugs" to spread insecurity and panic among the Libyan people. Radwan told Arabstoday that the Transitional Council should bear responsibility for killing Chancellor Gomaa who has been targeted twice before -- one when his car was bombed, and the other when he was injured by a bullet above his heart . He added that the release of the names of the seventeen accused of killing Younis was a grave mistake made by the Transitional Council, pointing out that they are liable to be killed, and nobody knows whose turn will be next. "We are working day and night to discover the identity of the killer. Information has been passed to all the security authorities and the murderer will be punished.” Radwan said. The Libyan Observatory for Human Rights, el-Gizawy condemned the assassination according to the El Shorouk website and also charged the National Transitional Council with full responsibility for the assassination of el-Gizawy, pointing out that the culture of violence and killings does nothing to establish a new homeland, and undermines all that has been achieved by the revolution of February 17. The statement called on authorities to move quickly to uncover the circumstances of the incident and to arrest the perpetrators and bring them to justice. Al-Obeidi is the former head of the judiciary committee which was formed by the former Libyan vice chairman of the executive office Ali al-Issawi, and issued a warrant for the arrest of Major General Abdel-Fattah Younis in July 2011, who was also assassinated in the city of Benghazi.