Having loosened its close ties with the Muslim Brotherhood in a bid to normalize its relations with the major actors of the Arab world, Turkey is now reviving its approach in Libya by involving family members of former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and his supporters into its calculus. 

On Sept. 5, the Libyan authorities released Saadi Gadhafi, one of Gadhafi's sons, from jail, along with other prisoners including Ahmed Ramadan, who was known as the right-hand man of the late Libyan leader. Turkey seems to have played a role in his release.  

Following his release from a Tripoli prison, Gadhafi immediately traveled to Istanbul via private jet. A Libyan source familiar with the affair told Al-Monitor that Gadhafi then left Istanbul for Cairo. Why Gadhafi didn’t directly fly to Cairo raised question marks.

According to the Libyan source, Turkish authorities considered a direct flight from Tripoli to Cairo “unsafe,” thus parties arranged for a connecting flight via Istanbul in coordination with the Turkish authorities. Although what kind of security concerns would emerge from a direct private flight to Cairo from Tripoli remains unclear, Gadhafi’s departure for Istanbul has clearly emphasized the Turkish role in the process. This role will likely be noted as Turkey’s “good faith” in the Libyan political process.