On 31 March 2011, it was reported that he had been in Tunisia, awaiting a flight out of there, in an attempt to defect Gaddafi's government, and on the background of the Libyan civil war. He was a part of Gaddafi's inner circle. He was arrested by NTC forces on 11 September 2011. During his detention, Dorda was severely injured (both legs broken) after falling from the window of the second floor of the prison. While his family believed he survived an assassination attempt, prison officials claimed he tried to commit suicide.