Libyan
prosecutors opened the trial of deposed leader Muammar Gaddafi's sons
and more than two dozen of his ex-officials on Monday in a major test
for the North African state's transition to a democracy. Gaddafi's sons Saadi Gaddafi
and Saif al-Islam did not appear in the courtroom at Tripoli's Al-Hadba
prison, but the deposed ruler's ex-spy chief Abdullah al-Senussi was
among the former senior officials sitting in blue jumpsuits behind a
fenced-off section. The men face
charges ranging from corruption to war crimes related to the deaths
during the 2011 uprising, which expanded into a civil war that
eventually ousted Gaddafi. The former Libyan leader was later killed
after being captured by rebels. Addressing
the four judges, many of the defendants complained they had not been
given access to lawyers or only saw them at court appearances. "I want to be treated like other prisoners. I want visiting rights. I don't have a lawyer," Senussi said. Prosecutors
said Senussi had been allowed to see relatives, but denied lawyers had
been prevented from visiting their clients at the prison. Post-Gaddafi Libya
has so far been defined by a weak interim government and growing unrest
as former revolutionary fighters refuse to give up their weapons, and
armed protesters blockade the country's crucial oil exports. The
trial began a day after interim prime minister Abdullah al-Thinni
announced his resignation after an attack on his family and following
the ousting of the previous prime minister barely a month ago. The
International Criminal Court and other human rights organizations are
concerned over the fairness of Libya's justice system although the
government won the right last year to try Gaddafi's former spy chief
domestically instead of at the ICC. Senussi
was joined in the court by Gaddafi's former prime minister Baghdadi
al-Mahmoudi, and former foreign minister Abdul Ati al-Obeidi. Also in
the court was ex-intelligence chief Buzeid Dorda, who had appeared at
earlier trial proceedings. But the
chief investigator in the case, Sidiq al-Sour, said Saadi would not
appear in court on Monday because investigations were still ongoing. Saif al-Islam, long viewed as Gaddafi's heir and still held by a group of former rebels in western Libya, had been expected to appear by video-link inside the courtroom. After
Monday's opening session, the trial will not resume until April 27 as
investigators need more time to finish their cases with some of the
defendants. LEGAL CONCERNS Libya's
nascent democracy has struggled to establish basic institutions and the
rule of law as Gaddafi left behind a shell of a government after
absorbing all the power into his own hands during his four-decade rule. "If
they don't get fair trials then it casts doubt over whether the new
Libya is not about selective justice," Hanan Salah, Libya researcher in
the Middle East and North Africa division at Human Rights Watch said
before the trial. "So far, there
have been problems with legal representation. Many of those on trial did
not have a lawyer from the beginning - a cornerstone of a fair trial." Saadi
Gaddafi, known as a playboy with a brief career in professional soccer,
was extradited to Libya from Niger in early March. He had been expected
to appear in court for the first time to hear charges. Gaddafi's
more prominent son, Saif al-Islam, is being held by the powerful
western Zintan militia group, who have refused to hand him over to the
central government, saying they believe it cannot provide a secure
trial. But Libya's justice minister
insisted that the trial was open to the public who would ensure the
process was fair and not turn into a "Mickey Mouse" show trial. "I
will not allow any crazy stuff, I will make sure it meets international
standards ... that is why we are having open trials," Salah
al-Merghani, the justice minister told Reuters. "We heard there were complaints from the lawyers ... The court will see if the complaints are genuine or not."
Libya starts trial of ex-Gaddafi officials, sons absent
Reuters
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