Activists seize Saif Gadaffi's London mansion

A group of activist squatters have occupied Saif "War Criminal/Plagiarist/Zillionaire" Gadaffi's swanky £10M mansion in London's Mayfair.

A spokesman for the group said "We didn't trust the British government to properly seize the Gaddafi regime's corrupt assets, so we took matters into our own hands."

"The British government only recently stopped actively helping to train the Libyan regime in "crowd control" techniques, through the Department for Business Innovation and Skills and a midlands based arms manufacturer, NMS Systems. As well as training the regime in repression, British corporations are also guilty of providing the same weapons that are now being used by Gaddaffi against the Libyan people."

The mansion is managed by Gaddaffi through a holding company registered in the British Virgin Islands. The spokesman for occupiers said "Gaddafi, Mubarak, the House of Saud and numerous other tyrants use front companies in British protectorates to avoid paying tax and above all to protect their anonymity. Britain actively assists tyrants, corporations and the super rich to rob their people blind. Our aim is to make sure that the assets stolen by Gaddafi are returned to the Libyan people and don't disappear into the pockets of governments or corporations. In the meantime we want to welcome refugees from the conflict in Libya and those fleeing tyranny and oppression across the world."

Saif Gaddafi's london mansion occupied (Thanks, Tim!)

(Image: Nusibab)

• [teapot]

  Why are they only outside? I’d break in, loot his shit, sell it on ebay and donate the proceeds to the rebel cause. Then I’d destroy the house.

• [alllie]

  That’s a mansion?

• [Rayonic]

  I’m all for the government having the power to seize assets in certain defined scenarios. But turning a blind eye to this kind of vigilantism is a bad precedent to set. Today it’s a hated dictator, tomorrow it’s the next villain of the week.

  On the other hand, The UK is pretty soft on squatters, so maybe this is like a continuation of that policy.

• [Anonymous]

  What? Are Blair, Brown and Cameron homeless?

  How many has Gadaffi killed compared to them?

• [ultranaut]

  This could turn into the most awesome house party London has ever seen. Someone invite Hadouken! over to throw a free concert. Get smashed, gate crash!

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMx1O8upsNc

• [Jeremiah Cornelius]

  Oi!

  That’s not a mansion! It’s nearly semi-detached.

  Now that you’ve found your paradise
  This is your Kingdom to command
  You can go outside and polish your car
  Or sit by the fire in your Shangri-la
  Here is your reward for working so hard
  Gone are the lavatories in the back yard
  Gone are the days when you dreamed of that car
  You just want to sit in your Shangri-la

  Put on your slippers and sit by the fire
  You’ve reached your top and you just can’t get any higher
  You’re in your place and you know where you are
  In your Shangri-la
  Sit back in your old rocking chair
  You need not worry, you need not care
  You can’t go anywhere
  Shangri-la, Shangri-la, Shangri-la

• [EH]

  The message could be better worded, but RIGHT ON, not the least for trying to put some egg on the gov’ts face.

• [Yamara]

  About time.

  Some people just have Too Many Things.

• [jaysonlorenzen]

  Photo:

  http://twitpic.com/47u210

• [Anonymous]

  “The mansion is managed by Gaddaffi through a holding company registered in the British Virgin Islands.”

  Go figure! This spring the world has a chance to get rid of two of the worlds largest problems in one stroke: the dictators holding many arabic peoples captive AND the tax haven scumback puppet regimes that are very important for the functioning of both arabic dictatorships and our financial sector psycopath overlords here in the west.

• [Anonymous]

  The address is 7 Winnington Close, London N2 0UA. (The photo on Google maps confirms this.)

  You could call that neighbourhood Barnet or Hampstead, depending on whether you’re or an estate agent or not. It’s certainly not Mayfair.

• [Benoisito]

  “… In the meantime we want to welcome refugees from the conflict in Libya and those fleeing tyranny and oppression across the world.”

  Direct action at its finest.

• [Symbiote]

  That doesn’t look like Mayfair. The article says Hampsted, which fits the style of the house.

  Also, £10M only gets you a large apartment in Mayfair. You’d need a bit more for a whole house ;-)

• [bjacques]

  *That’s* a £10M mansion!? I know London real estate prices are crazy even in the downturn, but I still think somebody got took.

  This makes Prince Andrew cry.