Gaddafi sons no-shows as trial gets underway
By Nehal El-Sherif, dpa
14.04.2014
Cairo (dpa) - Two sons of former Libyan leader Moamer Gaddafi were absent Monday as a Tripoli court began trying them for crimes allegedly committed in an attempt to abort the uprising that toppled their father.
Saadi and Saif al-Islam Gaddafi are among 37 defendants facing charges that include incitement to kill and rape opponents, enlisting mercenaries and embezzlement of public funds and other abuses during the 2011 uprising that led to the ouster and killing of Gaddafi, the official LANA news agency reported.
Only 23 defendants were present in court, the report said.
The session was adjourned until April 27.
Saadi Gaddafi, who is being held in the Libyan capital, was not in the courtroom, according to a person attending the session.
His younger brother, Saif al-Islam, was expected to join through a video call from his prison in the city of Zintan, but he was also absent.
Former intelligence chief Abdullah Senussi and former prime minister Baghdadi al-Mahmoudi were present at the trial, the witness added.
Libya has resisted pressure from The Hague-based International Criminal Court to hand over Saif al-Islam Gaddafi to be tried for crimes against humanity during the uprising.
He has been in custody since November 2011, when rebels arrested him almost a month after his father's death.
Saadi, Gaddafi's third son, was extradited earlier this month by Niger, where he sought refuge in 2011. He remains under investigation, and sources said, this is why he was not present in court on Monday.
Human Rights Watch said the trial raises serious due process concerns, including the defendants’ limited access to lawyers and key documents on the evidence against them.
“This case has been riddled with procedural flaws right from the beginning, which have made it grossly unfair to the defendants,” said Richard Dicker, international justice director at Human Rights Watch. “Putting Gaddafi-era officials on trial without fair trial guarantees shouldn’t leave anyone satisfied that justice is being done.”
Meanwhile, Libya's recently elected constitutional commission failed to hold its scheduled first meeting in the city of al-Baida.
The Al-Wasat news site quoted commission official Abdullah al-Sifat as saying that the meeting had had to be postponed due to a closure of al-Baida's airport in recent days which had prevented the arrival of some members.
The drafting of a permanent constitution, and legislative elections expected to be held in July, are the next stages in Libya's troubled transition, which has seen government institutions and official security forces overshadowed by unruly revolutionary militias.
