Libyan official Saif al-Islam, the son of leader Muammar Gaddafi, gave an interview to a leading Algerian publication. Now Seif is being held by counter-revolutionary rebels who will try him through a show trial., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.
Seif Al-Islam Appears in Rebel Court
ZINTAN, Libya December 12, 2013
Heir apparent and son of the martyred Pan-Africanist leader Moammar Gadhafi briefly appeared before a militia-backed court in a western Libyan town on Thursday only to see the proceedings against him adjourned until the end of February.
Since the end of Libya's 2011 CIA-Pentagon-NATO war of regime-change, Seif al-Islam Gadhafi has been held by a militia in Zintan, which has refused to hand him over for a separate trial in the capital, Tripoli — a sign of the central neocolonial government's weakness.
In Tripoli, he is being tried in absentia along with 39 other Gadhafi government figures, including intelligence director Abdullah al-Senoussi, for their efforts in defending Libya against a massive bombing campaign by the Pentagon and NATO as well as western CIA-backed rebels attacking ground positions.
Seif al-Islam is also wanted by the International Criminal Court in The Hague on charges of crimes against humanity.
The only Gadhfai son in custody, Seif al-Islam looked healthy during his brief appearance Thursday in the Zintan court. Wearing a blue prison uniform, he replied with a "no" when the judge asked him whether he had any requests.
The hearings were then adjourned until Feb. 27 because the judge demanded that "other suspects" be brought in.
In the Zintan trial, Seif al-Islam faces charges of attempting to escape prison and insulting Libya's new rebel flag. These charges are linked to a meeting he had in June 2012 with an ICC delegation that was accused of smuggling documents and a camera to him in his cell. The four-member team from The Hague was detained by Zintan rebels but released after the international tribunal apologized and pledged to investigate the incident.
The Zintan charges are separate from both those by the ICC, which indicted Seif al-Islam for the alleged murder and persecution of protesters in the western-backed counter-revolution that ultimately overthrew the government and brutally assassinated his father and destroyed the Libyan government.
Thursday's hearing was held amid tight security measures, with several masked rebels standing around Seif al-Islam inside the courtroom.
The Zintan proceedings and the refusal of its militia to hand over Seif al-Islam underscore some of the many troubles plaguing occupied Libya. Since Gadhafi's brutal assassination by rebel mobs near Sirte, the country has fallen hostage to heavily armed militias — which were once the backbone of the uprising — that continue to challenge the central government and threaten the majority of the population in Libya who want the counter-revolutionaries disarmed.
With frequent attacks on public figures and security officials, much of the lawlessness is blamed on the groups. But the United States supported rebel government also relies on many of them to provide security in the absence of a functioning police force.
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