The August 23, 2001, issues of the Italian newspapers Corriere Della Sera, Libero, and Republica, reported that Qaddafi's son Hanibal was party hopping from nightclub to nightclub near Via Venito in Rome. He was exhibiting vile and very inhuman behavior, so three Italian security guards stopped him to alleviate any threat he might pose. He threw a bottle and a fire extinguisher at them, causing them injury. As a result, they arrested him and took him to a police station in the Monte Mario area. Once there, he presented the police with his diplomatic passport and revealed himself as Qaddafi's son, Hanibal, an officer in the Libyan Navy. So the Italian police were forced to let him go. This incident occurred Wednesday morning, August 22, at 3:00 a.m.

This is not the only incident involving Qaddafi's family that has occurred recently. Two weeks ago, Hanibal's brother Sa'adi was forcibly removed from The Billionaire, a nightclub in Porto Cervo. Many other such incidents similar to these two have occurred in countries all over Europe. In addition, Qaddafi's relative Ahmed Qaddafeddem has a history of trafficking in prostitution and other shameless practices in Egypt, and several European countries.

This family and Qaddafi's thugs are constantly in the news, but not for anything positive. Instead, they are in the news either for terrorist acts, prostitution, drinking, or incidents like those above. In other words, this family stinks. They are an odious disgrace to the good name of Libyans and to humanity itself. While the Libyan people suffer tremendously under the dictatorial regime of Qaddafi, his family cavorts around Europe as if they are above all laws and all standards of human behavior. How do they get away with it? By confiscating the wealth and destroying the livelihood of the Libyan people and by hiding behind international agreements like "diplomatic immunity." Qaddafi has used Libya's stolen wealth to bribe the global economic community into looking the other way. This amounts to de facto political support of a dictator--all because, in truth, the world community values profit more than principles and human rights. What's wrong with this picture? By now, surely every sane person in the world understands the heinous damage that Qaddafi, his thugs, and his family are doing to Libya. When will it end? When will this malignancy be cut out of the body politic of Libya so that it can never infect and threaten humanity again?

While Qaddafi's henchmen plant bombs, murder Libyan political opponents, and commit a whole host of other crimes against humanity, we have to sit here and watch the childish, petty crimes of his sons and other relatives. Every day they flaunt their power and disregard in our faces. This shameless display of tyranny makes me sick!

This regime must die. It cannot continue on its present track of destruction. If Qaddafi thinks the Libyan people are not united in their hatred of him, he is very mistaken, because once they gain the inevitable opportunity, they will erupt like a volcano, like an earthquake under his feet.

Shaib El'ain