The Death of Gaddafi

On October 20, 2011, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi was dragged from a drain pipe, tortured and killed.

Libya’s self-proclaimed “Brother Leader”, the one-time revolutionary who overthrew a king and promised a country governed by the people, met his end at the hands of a new generation of revolutionaries – Libyans seeking an end to Gaddafi’s often brutal 42-year rule.

What the Libyan people were suffering under Gaddafi was far more painful and brutal than what the Tunisian people were suffering under Ben Ali or the Egyptian people were suffering under Mubarak.

by Guma el-Gumaty, leader, Taghyeer Party

But as the so-called “Arab Spring” uprisings deposed leaders to the east and west of Libya in Egypt and Tunisia, was the fall of Gaddafi inevitable? Was it always destined to be so bloody?

And was it simply the unleashed rage of a beleaguered population or were external factors – and external powers – involved in the violence that ripped Libya apart?

This short film uncovers the moments that led up to the protests in the east of Libya and how they turned into a full-scale rebellion. It charts the Gaddafi regime’s response as well as its ultimate demise, and explores the role of international players in the break-up of Libya and the death of Gaddafi.

“The regime tried to snuff out the protests in a brutal fashion in a way that sparked even more protests,” says journalist Mary Fitzgerland. “So funerals of those who had been killed by the regime triggered even more crowds to come out. People lost their fear.” 

Watch the full film The Big Picture: The Lust for Libya here.