On 5 March, the Office of the Attorney General announced the initial findings of ongoing investigations in the Saif al-Islam al-Qadhafi murder case. Investigators found that the perpetrators lay in wait for the victim, Saif al‑Islam, observing his residence in Zintan until they caught him in the courtyard. They climbed over the wall of the compound and cornered the victim in an area that prevented him from escaping. They aimed their automatic rifles at him and shot him repeatedly until he died.
The investigators examined the scene, documented the injuries on the body, recorded all visible traces and evidence, and took statements from witnesses with knowledge of the incident. Technical teams mapped the suspects’ movements before and after the killing, analyzed the physical evidence, and identified the location where the suspects met, the timing of their departure to commit the crime, the vehicles they used, and the route they took. This led to identifying three suspects. The Attorney General ordered their arrest without providing their names to the public.
On the same day, the family of the ‘martyred leader Muammar Qadhafi’ issued a statement describing the Attorney General’s information as a welcome but preliminary step toward uncovering the truth, and stressed that it must be followed by concrete action against the three wanted individuals. The family emphasized the need to reveal every detail surrounding the crime, including the parties that facilitated or enabled it, and anyone who planned, incited, or provided cover for the operation. They urged the Attorney General to treat the case as a matter of public concern, requiring the highest degree of transparency, particularly because the victim was a presidential candidate which makes the killing a political assassination. They reaffirmed their full legal and moral right to pursue the perpetrators and all those behind them, insisting that the blood of the slain will not be lost and that justice will ultimately prevail.
On 7 March, it was rumoured that Government of National Unity (GNU) Minister of Interior Emad Trabelsi (who is from Zintan) refused to cooperate with the office of the Attorney General in the Saif al-Islam case regarding the arrest of those wanted.
On 8 March, the names of four members of the Zintani tribe were rumoured as the names of the assailants. Allegedly, they killed Saif on the orders of Libyan National Army (LNA) Commander Khalifa Haftar and received 250 million LYD for the murder.
On 9 March, a pro‑Qadhafi social media page issued a statement urging supporters of the former regime to move beyond symbolic gestures and take real action in response to what it described as a political assassination plot against Saif al‑Islam Qadhafi. Quoting Muammar al-Qadhafi’s phrase ‘Libya fell only because of betrayal,’ the statement blamed recent years’ events on conspiracy and treachery, noting the family’s sacrifices since 2011, including killings, targeting, displacement, and, most recently, Saif al‑Islam’s killing. The page criticized the lack of meaningful response, insisting that statements and rallies are no longer enough. It warned that silence or neutrality amounts to betrayal and called on supporters to act decisively to restore Libya’s dignity and reclaim the country’s status.