The son of one of a group of officers led by Muammar Gaddafi that overthrew Libya’s monarchy and took power in 1969.

Hamedi is president of the ​​International Organization for Peace, Care and Relief, which the UNHCR once described in press releases as its “main partner in Libya on ensuring protection for refugees and asylum-seekers.” In regional media, he has also been an outspoken defender of Gaddafi and his father, el-Khweldi el-Hamedi, who have both been accused of human rights abuses and large-scale corruption.

Hamedi’s father’s rank in the Libyan military, his close relationship to Gaddafi, and his alleged role in the bloody crackdown on protests, raised the ire of NATO.