Thread by @nytimes

Seif al-Islam el-Qaddafi, the second son of the notorious dictator Muammar el-Qaddafi, is alive. In his first meeting with a foreign journalist in a decade, he talked to @robertfworth about his captivity — and hinted at a bid for Libya’s presidency. nyti.ms/2WvQKKR

“I’ve been away from the Libyan people for 10 years,” he told @robertfworth. “You need to come back slowly, slowly. Like a striptease.” He laughed. “You need to play with their minds a little.” nyti.ms/3rIiQy8

Until the Libyan uprising began in 2011, Seif was widely seen in the West as Libya’s best hope for reform. He had studied in London and spoke of democracy and human rights. But when the revolution came, he joined the Qaddafi regime’s brutal crackdown. nyti.ms/3rIiQy8

One day, listening to his captors, Seif said he sensed that something was shifting. Eventually, Libyans would become so disgusted that they would look back on the Qaddafi era with nostalgia. And that, in turn, might give him a chance to reclaim everything he had lost.

After Libya fractured into warring militias, Libyans began to think differently of Seif, who had prophesied Libya’s fragmentation in the 2011 uprising’s early days. There were reports that he had been freed, that he was planning to run for president. But no one knew where he was.

Seif has been quietly reorganizing his father’s political force, the Green Movement. He is coy about whether he is running for president, but he believes that his movement can restore the country’s lost unity. nyti.ms/3rIiQy8

One of Seif’s political advantages is his name. Muammar el-Qaddafi’s son — the same man who promised “rivers of blood” in a 2011 speech — is now seen by many as the presidential candidate with the cleanest hands. nyti.ms/3rIiQy8

Seif seems to understand that his absence is the key to his renewed popularity. Keen to maintain an aura of mystery, he was reluctant to let @NYTmag photograph him. He agreed to pose, but kept turning away from the camera and insisted on covering his face. nyti.ms/3rIiQy8

When @robertfworth asked whether he sympathized at all with the feelings that led protesters to call for change in 2011, his answers were clear: They were evil, terrorists, devils. He said he had no real criticisms of his father’s 40-year rule. nyti.ms/3rIiQy8

No foreign journalist had seen him for a decade.
There had been no proof of life since 2014.
People in Libya said they didn’t know if he was dead or alive.
What happened to Seif el-Qaddafi, the second son of Libya’s notorious dictator? nyti.ms/3rIiQy8

Read the story in Arabic. nyti.ms/3j2FoFS