'Facebook blasphemer' given death penalty

A man accused of posting blasphemous content to Facebook has been sentenced to death by a court in Pakistan.
Taimoor Raza was convicted after allegedly posting remarks about the Prophet Muhammad, his wives and companions within the site's comments.
The public prosecutor involved said he believed it was the first time the death penalty had been awarded in a case related to social media.
Human rights campaigners have expressed concern.
Facebook itself has yet to comment on the case.
The US firm previously announced in March that it was deploying a team to Pakistan to address the government's concerns about blasphemous content on its service, but added that it still wished to protect "the privacy and rights" of its members.
Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has described blasphemy as being an "unpardonable offence".

Religious debate

Raza's case was heard by an anti-terrorism court in Bahawalpur - about 309 miles (498km) from the capital Islamabad.
His defence lawyer said the 30-year-old had become involved in an argument about Islam on the social network with someone who had turned out to be a counter-terrorism official.
The public prosecutor said the accused had been arrested after playing hate speech and blasphemous material from his phone at a bus stop, following which his handset had been confiscated and analysed.
Raza will be able to appeal against the death penalty at Lahore High Court and then, if required, in Pakistan's Supreme Court.
The Express Tribune, a local newspaper, reported that the verdict came days after a college professor was refused bail in another case involving accusations of blasphemy on social media in Pakistan.
Amnesty International recently published a report critical of Pakistan's blasphemy laws.
"[They] enable abuse and violate the country's international legal obligations to respect and protect a range of human rights, including freedom of religion or belief and of opinion and expression," it said.
"Once someone is charged, they can be denied bail and face lengthy and unfair trials."

The developments come seven years after a Pakistan court temporarily blocked local access to Facebook after the social network was used to promote a contest to draw images of Prophet Muhammad - an act considered to be offensive by many Muslims.

Analysis - Tahir Imran, BBC Urdu social media editor

This is a dramatic time for Pakistani social media. Once considered a platform where people could express themselves freely, it is now a place where people worry about the consequences of commenting.
Instead of acting to restore confidence and safeguarding the masses' right to freedom of expression, the government has been busy making threats through TV and newspaper adverts.
This is happening with a clear understanding about the gravity that accusations of blasphemy can have. There have been several incidents of vigilantes taking the law into their own hands after such claims.
Human rights activists accuse the government of pushing through a controversial cyber-crimes law without addressing their concerns.
In a country where fewer people have been convicted of blasphemy than have been killed after being accused of the offence, this ruling will not calm nerves. And increasingly people prefer to use chat apps and closed groups to post content so that their thoughts cannot be seen by the wider public.

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Queen's Speech delayed as DUP talks continue

The Queen's Speech - in which the government sets out its legislative programme - has been delayed for a few days, the BBC understands.
The set-piece event had been due to take place on Monday 19 June.
The Conservatives are negotiating with the Democratic Unionist Party to get support for their minority government.
Brexit Secretary David Davis predicted some parts of the Tory manifesto would now have to be "pruned" after the Tories lost their Commons majority.
The Queen's Speech is written by the government and presents an outline of its planned legislation for the next Parliamentary session.
BBC assistant political editor Norman Smith said the decision to delay it revealed an "ambiguity" about what would go in it - with several manifesto pledges expected to be watered down or dropped - but also the need for the Tories to "nail down" DUP support.
A defeat for its Queen's Speech would be tantamount to a vote of no confidence in the new minority government, he said.
One of the reasons for the delay is also believed to be because the speech has to be written on goat's skin parchment paper, which takes a few days to dry - and the Tory negotiations with the DUP mean it cannot be ready in time.
Theresa May will face questions later from her backbenchers for the first time since Thursday's election.
They are expected to raise concerns about her leadership style, and press for more details on talks with the DUP.
Mrs May's new cabinet will also meet for the first time after a reshuffle.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Mr Davis said that while the Tory election campaign had been disappointing, Mrs May was a "formidable prime minister" and accused people speculating about her leadership of "the absolute height of self-indulgence".
But Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has accused Mrs May of "squatting" in No 10, telling the BBC's Andrew Marr Show on Sunday that the country "cannot go on with a period of great instability".
The PM finalised her cabinet with a small reshuffle, with Michael Gove returning to a ministerial role as environment secretary.
Mr Gove, who took on Mrs May for the party leadership after David Cameron quit, was sacked by the PM in her reshuffle in July last year.
The Conservatives went from 331 seats to 318 in the general election, while Labour increased its number of MPs from 232 to 262.
BBC political correspondent Iain Watson said the meeting with the committee had been brought forward by 24 hours, not because of panic within the party, but possibly as a way of avoiding it.
One MP told him: "The wise heads will need to tell any hotheads to calm down."
The 1922 Committee is made up of all Conservative backbenchers - the name is taken from the year in which its original members were elected.
Its primary function is to keep the leadership of the party informed of the mood among the rank and file, and if a Conservative leader or other senior figure loses its support they could be in a particularly vulnerable position.
Graham Brady, chairman of the committee, told BBC One's Sunday Politics there was "zero appetite" among the public for another election.
A number of high-profile members kept their posts in Sunday's cabinet reshuffle, with Philip Hammond staying at the Treasury, Boris Johnson remaining at the Foreign Office and Amber Rudd keeping the Home Office brief.
But some changed jobs too, with Liz Truss being demoted from justice secretary to become chief secretary to the Treasury.
Damian Green, who was work and pensions secretary, has been promoted to become the first secretary of state - effectively Mrs May's second in command.

'Diminished authority'

 

 

Analysis by BBC political correspondent Iain Watson
Widespread demands for Mrs May to go are not expected at Monday's 1922 Committee meeting.
Instead, there will be demands for her to consult more, including meeting regularly with the 1922 executive, and to turn Downing Street from a bunker into an open house by broadening her range of staff.
However, few MPs expect her position to be strong and stable for the next five years.
One senior backbencher told me: "It is inconceivable she will lead the party into the next election. Her authority has been diminished unquestionably."
Another said: "Party members have been too bruised by her."
"She has bought herself some time", said another senior backbencher, but added: "How she behaves will determine how long she's there."
There is a feeling that the party is holding on to nurse for fear of something worse.

Johnson: MPs should get a grip

After speculation in the Sunday newspapers that he was mounting a leadership challenge, Mr Johnson has called for Tory MPs to back Mrs May.
Writing in Monday's Sun, the foreign secretary said those calling for the PM to step down should "get a grip", adding the electorate wanted the government to "get on with the job".


Mr Johnson admitted the prime minister's election campaign did not go well - "to put it mildly" - and that Tory messages "got lost or misunderstood".
But he added: "Theresa May led a campaign that inspired 13.7m people to vote Conservative, in the biggest total tally of Tory votes since the days of Margaret Thatcher.
"That is a stunning achievement, for which she deserves the support of her party. And she will certainly get it from me."
He also said the proposal of a deal with the DUP to keep her minority government in power was "feasible".
"The people of Britain have had a bellyful of promises and politicking," he wrote.
"Now is the time for delivery - and Theresa May is the right person to continue that vital work."

Michael Gove's 'surprise'

The return of Mr Gove to the front bench as environment secretary has been a shock to some, including the politician himself.
Speaking to Sky News on Sunday, he said he had been "quite surprised" to be asked to rejoin the cabinet.
He added: "Of course I knew that today was reshuffle day, but I genuinely didn't expect this role - although I am delighted to be part of the government, and delighted to be able to support Theresa."


However, the BBC's environment analyst Roger Harrabin says green campaigners are appalled at Mr Gove's appointment, pointing to his time as education secretary, when he tried to remove climate change from the geography curriculum, and as chief whip, when he blocked the then environment secretary from important international talks.
Tom Burke, from green think tank E3G, told BBC News: "The environment is something young voters really care about.
"If the Tories really want to reconnect with the youth surge, this is about the worst option they could have chosen."
But others have welcomed the new minister.
One senior farming industry source said they were happy that a "big hitter" was taking the top job at the Department for Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra).
"Defra has long been a backwater, so at last it's not someone in charge who is being put out to grass," he said. 

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Ramadan TV pranks go to extremes in ratings battle

From shipwrecks to terror attacks to an air disaster involving Paris Hilton, it seems that almost nothing is off-limits for the prank shows that have become a staple of North African TV during the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan.
A recent programme in Algeria earned fierce criticism for fooling a renowned communist novelist into believing he had been arrested for "atheism and espionage".
During the segment, 75-year-old Rachid Boudjedra was forced by fake police officers to repeat the Islamic proclamation "God is Greatest" and utter the two Islamic testimonies of faith.
The programme, called We Got You was later suspended amid a wave of criticism from civil society.


TV has become an important part of the Islamic holy month, and broadcasters will often commission special programmes to draw audiences in as they break their fast in the evening.
Prank TV shows have risen in popularity, but have also earned criticism in recent years for taking things too far.

Staged terror attack

Egyptian actor Ramez Galal has established himself as a major TV prankster, with a series of programmes featuring celebrities in increasingly extreme scenarios.


In one edition, he fooled celebrities into believing they were on a sinking ship, surrounded by floating body parts and an approaching shark.
In another, victims were locked inside a supposed ancient Egyptian tomb containing bats, insects and a mummy rising from the dead.
In 2013 during a programme entitled Ramez, the Fox of the Desert, guest celebrities were fooled into believing the bus they were travelling on had been intercepted by militants.
The mock militants pretended to shoot the driver dead and then blindfolded and handcuffed the guests.


This was aired at a time when Egypt was witnessing a surge in terror attacks, particularly in the region of Sinai, where military convoys were often attacked by armed bandits in desolate areas.
Galal revels in the controversy. In a trailer for his show, he admits to "torturing his friends and fellow actors because he loves them".
And it may be that only the audience is being fooled. Sharp-eyed viewers often find clues signalling that the guests are in on the prank.
Some celebrities have confirmed that this was the case.

Fatwas

Tunisia's The Earthquake is another controversial programme which fools guests into believing they are experiencing a violent tremor.


In one episode, an elderly religious leader insisted on continuing to pray despite the ongoing quake.
The show was widely criticised on social media for disregarding the age and health conditions of the guests, who seemed genuinely scared.
Similar charges were levelled at Algeria's We Got You. Following the episode featuring Mr Boudjedra, one Algerian novelist said it was "unbelievable that a famous writer was ridiculously pranked with no regards to his age or fame".
Religious bodies in the region have recently issued fatwas (religious edicts) asserting that terrorising people for any purpose is religiously forbidden.
The shows are also criticised, like the slew of entertainment programmes aired during Ramadan, for being a distraction from spiritual dedication during the holy month.

Chasing ratings

Egyptian media expert Yasser Abd-al-Aziz told the BBC that the prevalence of TV pranks has forced production companies to push the boundaries of good taste in order to attract audience and advertising revenue.
But one popular show entitled The Shock appears to buck this trend, with more traditional pranks, rather than terrifying ordeals.


The show is filmed in a number of Arab countries, capturing reactions to staged situations such as a man violently scolding his wife, a student insulting his teacher or a child standing helpless in the cold weather asking passers-by for a coat.
It has won over audiences across the the region by exploring how strangers interact in dramatic but everyday situations.
As Twitter user @Nooruldeen89 put it: "Despite the acts being staged, The Shock awakens the human in you and makes you rethink your perspective."

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Uncovering a story of ill-fated romance and tragic death

Not so long ago, the Jews of Baghdad were one of the great trading communities in Asia. In the southern Indian port city of Chennai - Madras, as it once was - Andrew Whitehead came across a last remnant of the Jewish presence there, and stumbled on a tragic love story.
I was told the place would be difficult to find - tucked away on a busy market street not far from Marina beach, with stalls obscuring the entrance. But I spotted the star of David standing proud. The gates had recently been painted sky blue, and over the entrance were the words Beit Ha Haim, Hebrew for The House Of Life. In other words, a Jewish cemetery
 
 The gates were padlocked. One of the market women gestured to me to wait - she got out her phone - another woman found me a plastic chair and assured me, "Someone coming."
Half-an-hour later, Kumari appeared - a bustling, well set woman in a pink sari. She had a bunch of keys, and within a couple of minutes I was ushered into a tiny graveyard, little bigger than a badminton court. It was a touch forlorn-looking, but clearly well-kept. And in case I hadn't cottoned on who was responsible for the upkeep, Kumari wielded her broom energetically to clear leaves from the gravestones.
The synagogue in what was Madras was demolished decades ago. The city now has no Jewish community, though some say there are still a few individuals. The cemetery is just about all that's left, and that's moved, perhaps twice, down the years. Only a handful of the older graves have survived, the most substantial that of Abraham Salomons, a coral merchant, who died in 1745.
There's a handful of 20th Century graves. One caught my eye - a woman who died in 1943 in her
early twenties, Victoria M Sofaer. What was the story behind that early death


Well, there's a family history website devoted to the Sephardic Jewish diaspora. Victoria - I discovered - was known as Toyah, and born in Baghdad. But curiously, her family didn't know about her grave - or exactly when or where Toyah died.
Through that website, I made contact with Toyah's niece - and indirectly with Toyah's half-brother, Abraham, now 94 and living in a nursing home in Toronto. He was born two years after Toyah and was the closest to her in the family. They were surprised to learn of Toyah's grave. In turn they unsettled me with the troubling story of Toyah's life and death - barely known even within the family, and never rehearsed beyond its bounds.
Toyah's father, Menashi, was the proprietor of the British General Supply Store in Baghdad in the 1920s and 1930s. They imported Swiss cheese, French brandy, American cigarettes, Belgian chocolate, and had a grand shop on Rashid Street, Baghdad's main street back then.
In 1940 or thereabouts, Toyah fell in love with an Armenian man from the family that ran the ladies' wear shop on the other side of the street. Her family found out. They were determined to put a stop to the romance. They tried to find a Jewish groom - she turned them all down. So they shipped Toyah out - to India.

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Abraham, Toyah's half-brother, was then living in Bombay to avoid service in the Iraqi army. Late in 1942, his parents turned up there with Toyah in tow.
"She was in complete shock, silent - she never said a word to me", he recalls. "It saddened me greatly."


After a while, Toyah and her parents moved on - he wasn't told where. Then he heard that Toyah had died. And their parents returned to Baghdad. They didn't talk about what happened. It was only later that Abraham found out from his grandmother about Toyah's transgressive romance. "I believe my sister died from a broken heart," he says.
I asked if there were any likenesses of Toyah. I was sent a family portrait of three boys. Toyah would have been seven at the time. Why wasn't she included? She had been! When she died, her parents retouched the photo to remove her image. Done - says Toyah's niece - so that there was no reminder of the scandal and the tragedy.


Another photo has emerged. It may, just may, include Toyah. A serious looking young girl with tousled hair, no-one's quite sure if it's her - and more than 70 years after her death, I guess we'll never know.
Toyah's brother is comforted to know she has a proper grave, and to be able to talk within the family about the fate his sister suffered. It's offered him some closure and given his sister public acknowledgement of the wrong done to her.
His daughter dropped me a line. "Bringing back memories of Toyah", she said, "is incredibly moving for us."
It is for me too.



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Qatar blockade: Iran sends five planeloads of food

Iran has sent five planeloads of food to Qatar, which is suffering shortages amid a regional blockade.
A number of nations, including Iran's major rival Saudi Arabia, last week cut ties with Qatar, accusing it of funding terrorism, charges it denies.
The land border with Saudi Arabia, through which 40% of Qatar's food comes, has been closed.
Qataris have been ordered to leave some of the blockading nations, but Qatar has said it will not follow suit.
A spokesman for Iran Air, Shahrokh Noushabadi, told the Agence France-Presse news agency on Sunday: "So far five planes carrying perishable food items such as fruit and vegetables have been sent to Qatar, each carrying around 90 tonnes of cargo, while another plane will be sent today."
It is unclear whether the food is an aid delivery or a commercial transaction.
Iran Air posted a tweet of a shipment being loaded at Shiraz airport.
Mr Noushabadi said deliveries would continue "as long as there is demand".
AFP also quoted the Tasnim news agency as reporting that three ships with 350 tonnes of food were also set to leave for Qatar.
Iran has also opened its airspace to Qatari flights, following airspace closures by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.


Analysts say Qatar's positive relations with Shia-led Iran - Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia's arch-rival for influence in the region - were one of the causes of the latest rift, and the latest shipments are unlikely to ease the tension.
Meanwhile Qatar said it would not retaliate after Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE last week ordered all Qatari citizens to leave within 14 days.
Some 11,000 people from the three nations are believed to be in Qatar.
In other developments on Sunday:
  • Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE have set up hotlines to help families in their countries that have Qatari members. It is the first significant move to lessen the humanitarian impact of the blockade and followed a call on Friday by US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson for measures to be eased
  • Qatar has hired former US attorney general John Ashcroft to fight its corner in the international arena
  • Fifa president, Gianni Infantino, said he was confident the "region will return to a normal situation" and the current crisis would not affect the staging of football's World Cup in Qatar in 2022
  • Qatar's overseer of charities. the Regulatory Authority for Charitable Activities, denied any involvement in funding militants, saying it "deplores the accusation that Qatari humanitarian organisations support terrorism"
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The last hours of a Christian sanitary worker in Pakistan

Irfan Masih was clearing a blocked sewer in Pakistan's Sindh Province when he was overcome by toxic fumes. The 30-year-old, who is Christian, died in hospital. His family say that doctors initially refused to treat him and allege he is a victim of growing discrimination from the Muslim majority. The BBC's Riaz Sohail in Umarkot and M Ilyas Khan in Islamabad report.
When Irfan Masih was sent with two colleagues to clear a sewer that had been blocked for four months on Chhor road in Umarkot town, he could not have foreseen that his life was about to end.
His cousin Pervez, a sanitary worker like Irfan, said he was heading to work on 1 June when he heard about the incident.
"I rushed straight to the spot where some people were gathered. They had already pulled out Shaukat Masih, who was unconscious. I helped bring out Yaqoob and Irfan."
Shaukat Masih had been sent down to rescue the two. Irfan was deepest down the sewer well.
"Irfan was breathing, sometimes choking a bit. I lifted him on my shoulder and started running towards the hospital when an auto rickshaw pulled over to help me carry him. 



The Taluka Headquarters Hospital in Umarkot is a small one, with only one emergency room where all three were taken. Six doctors deal with 600 outpatient and emergency cases every day.
One doctor came in, looked at Irfan and told the ward boy to clean him, Pervez Masih said. "I pleaded with him that Irfan was seriously ill and he must examine him right away. But he said he was fasting [for Ramadan], and that Irfan was covered in sewage filth. He went away."
After some time, the hospital's chief doctor arrived, he says, followed a while later by another. Neither doctor tended to the injured sanitary worker, although Pervez Masih says the second doctor told the ward boy to put him on oxygen.
"The ward boy did not wash Irfan as he was told. He continued to try to insert a cannula in Irfan's wrist but couldn't find a vein.
"All this while, I was fretting and pleading with one member of staff after another to attend to Irfan. Then I cleaned his face a bit and put my mouth on his mouth and nose and blew in to revive him.
"All this time, Irfan was breathing. Occasionally a shiver would run down his body, like someone having an epileptic fit.
"We must have been there for half an hour before he died. The last time I breathed into his mouth and nose, he pulled in a deep breath and choked a little."
It was only then that the ward boy brought the oxygen and put the mask on his mouth, he said, but there did not appear to be any oxygen in the cylinder. Minutes later a fourth doctor, Hanif Aresar, came in.
"He didn't mind the filth, just went down and embraced him and turned him on his stomach, and back on his back, and tried to resuscitate him manually. Then he said it was no use. Irfan was gone. "
Image copyright Pervez Masih
 
 Irfan was Christian, like most sanitary workers in Pakistan. Some low-caste Hindus also do the job, but Muslims avoid this work because they see it as beneath them.
Christians also face discrimination in this Muslim-majority nation. So too do Hindus, but in Umarkot there is a Hindu population of half a million, making them an influential group. There are only a small number of Christians, however, and they have no meaningful representation in the local government.

Who are Pakistan's Christians?

 

  • Make up 1.6% of Pakistan's predominantly Muslim population
  • Majority are descendents of those who converted from Hinduism under the British Raj
  • Most converted to escape their low-caste status and many are among the poorest in Pakistan
  • Targeting of Christians fuelled by strong anti-blasphemy laws and anger over US-led war in Afghanistan
Dr Jam Kumbhar, the chief of the hospital, denies allegations that doctors refused to touch the three workers unless they were washed or that one said he was fasting (with the possible implication that he was short-tempered as a result).
He says Irfan Masih "was already dead when they brought him in," despite his cousin Pervez's detailed account of the man's last moments.
"I am a Muslim and a doctor, and part of our training is to understand that all patients are equal and we must not entertain prejudice against anyone," Dr Kumbhar told the BBC.
"I did not utter these words, nor did I hear any other doctor say that he was fasting and that he would touch the patient only after the patient was given a bath."
The BBC asked to see the entry register which lists each patient brought in to the emergency room and their medical condition. Dr Kumbhar said they couldn't find it because it had been taken away by local Christians.
Local journalist Nahid Hussain Khatak, who reached the hospital about 10 minutes after Irfan Masih, corroborates much of Pervez Masih's account.
 
 
 He had been seen by the doctors. If they thought he was dead, why would they put a cannula in his arm or give him oxygen?" A picture taken by Pervez Masih appears to show his brother with a cannula in his arm.
Dr Kumbhar accused the Christians of turning violent.
"They were armed with sticks and were also carrying acid in bottles. They broke things at the hospital. The lives of the doctors were in danger."
The hospital administration has made a formal request to the authorities to lodge a case of terrorism against 13 members of the Christian community.
Nahid Hussain Khatak says the violence alleged "wasn't even a fraction of what the hospital administration have said".
"Someone opened the fridge in the emergency room and found it stocked with fruit (for doctors and paramedics to eat after their fast) instead of medicine, and pulled it to the ground. They smashed up a couple of tables but it was over in minutes as everybody stormed out to hold a protest."
Far from going after the Christian protesters, police are investigating the three doctors at the hospital who are accused of negligence and involuntary homicide. Dr Kumbhar was arrested and released on bail.
Pressure for a police complaint mounted when the Christian community staged their demonstration, attracting media attention.
  Image copyright Pervez Masih 




Pervez Masih does admit he and others were angry.
"I lost my mind. Shaukat and Yaqoob were also in a serious state. So there was mayhem in the emergency room. Someone pulled down a refrigerator, a table or two were overturned, some windowpanes were broken."
But he says they left with Irfan Mashi's body when police told them to calm down.
"We took the dead body straight to the town square where we staged a sit-in for seven hours, and left only after the district administration high-ups assured us that justice would be done."
It was this anger, he believes, that convinced police to lodge a complaint against the three doctors, and that convinced the hospital staff to immediately arrange to transfer the two other Christian men to hospitals in Hyderabad and then Karachi.
"Shaukat has revived, but Yaqoob is still in a serious condition," Pervez says.
Locals say at least two other Christian sanitary workers lost their lives cleaning the same sewer three years ago.
Mir Hasan Aresar, a columnist and social worker, says there have been examples of intolerance towards minorities in this area. "Tolerance is diminishing, and it's worrying," he said.
Image copyright Pervez Masih
 
 
The government has announced compensation of a million rupees ($15,000, £12,200) to the family of Irfan Masih, but his mother, Arshad Bibi, is not content.
"I want justice. I want the doctors to be punished so that this doesn't happen to another poor family."
His father, Nazeer, said the first doctor did discriminate against Irfan and the others.
"He said he was fasting, and the patients were dirty. His clothes would get soiled, he said. He asked us to wash the patients before he could treat them.
"They hate us. They don't allow us to sit next to them because we are sweepers. The politicians came here because the case was highlighted in the media. Otherwise, no-one bothers."

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Gaddafi's son Saif freed in Libya

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, second son of the late deposed Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi, is said to have been freed under an amnesty, in a move which could fuel further instability.
His father's preferred successor, he had been held by a militia in the town of Zintan for the past six years.
The Abu Bakr al-Siddiq Battalion said he had been released on Friday but he has not been shown in public.
A source has told the BBC he is in the Tobruk area of eastern Libya.
His lawyer, Khaled al-Zaidi, also said he had been released but would not say which city Saif al-Islam had travelled to for security reasons.
The Abu Bakr al-Siddiq Battalion said it was acting on a request from the "interim government".
That government - based in the east of the country - had already offered amnesty to Saif al-Islam.
However, he has been sentenced to death in absentia by a court in Tripoli, the west of the country, where control is in the hands of the rival, UN-backed Government of National Accord.
Previous reports of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi's release proved to be false.
He is wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity during his father's unsuccessful attempts to put down the rebellion.

Another unpredictable element: analysis by Orla Guerin, BBC News, Tripoli

If confirmed, the release of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi would add another unpredictable element to Libya's unstable mix.
He was detained in the desert in November 2011 trying to flee to Niger, and later appeared missing several fingers.
The former playboy often appeared in the West as the public face of the Gaddafi regime and was his father's heir-apparent.
While reviled by many - at home and abroad - he retains some support in Libya and could try to re-enter the political fray here.
The 44-year-old Saif al-Islam - who was controversially granted a PhD by the London School of Economics in 2008 - was captured in November 2011 after three months on the run following the end of Muammar Gaddafi's decades-long rule.
Image copyright Reuters
 
 He was previously known for playing a key role in building relations with the West after 2000, and had been considered the reformist face of his father's regime.
But after the 2011 uprising, he found himself accused of incitement to violence and murdering protesters.
Four years later, he was sentenced to death by firing squad following a trial involving 30 of Gaddafi's close associates.

Saif al-Islam: Heir to prisoner

  • June 1972: Born in Tripoli, Libya, second son of Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi
  • February 2011: Uprising against Gaddafi government begins
  • June 2011: International Criminal Court issues an arrest warrant for Saif al-Islam for crimes against humanity
  • August 2011: Leaves the capital after Tripoli falls to anti-government forces; flees to Bani Walid
  • October 2011: Father and younger brother killed
  • 19 November 2011: Captured by militia as he tries to flee south to Niger. Imprisoned in Zintan 
  • July 2015: Sentenced to death by a Tripoli court in absentia
  • June 2017: Reportedly released after being granted amnesty by one of Libya's two competing governments
  •  
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Apple to scan iPhones for child sex abuse images

  Apple has announced details of a system to find child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on customers' devices. Before an image is stored on...