Gaddafi’s son to stand trial next month

Trial of Saif al-Islam and former spy chief Abdullah el-Senoussi to begin on September 19, prosecutor general says.

This image made from video distributed by the Zintan Media Center shows Seif al-Islam Gadhafi, center, inside a defendant''s cage in a courtroom in Zintan, Libya, Thursday, May 2, 2013. The imprisoned son of Libya''s slain dictator Moammar Gadhafi appeared in court on Thursday on charges of harming state security, but the judge adjourned his hearing until Sept. 19 to allow defense lawyers time to study the case.(AP Photo/Zintan Media Center)
Saif al-Islam's first appearance in court was on May 2 on charges of harming state security [AP]

The son and the spy chief of the dead Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi have been charged with murder in relation to Libya’s 2011 civil war and will stand trial next month.

The prosecutor general Abdel Qader Radwan said the trial of the two – Gaddafi’s son Saif al-Islam and the deposed leader’s spy chief Abdullah el-Senoussi – will start on September 19.

The two face charges over alleged crimes committed during Gaddafi’s 42-year rule and during the eight-month civil war in which he was killed.

Last February, the International Criminal Court had ruled that Libya cannot give Gaddafi’s son a fair trial and asked authorities to hand him over to The Hague-based court.

Libya wants to prosecute him at home, where he might face the death penalty, rather than hand him to the ICC where he could only receive a jail sentence.

Source: News Agencies