Trial of Gaddafi's son adjourned to March

A court in Tripoli on Sunday adjourned the trial of Saadi Gaddafi, son of deposed Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi, to March 13 following a request made by his lawyers to allow them more time to examine the case against him.

“The Second Indictment Division of the Court of Appeal of Tripoli (…) postponed consideration of the case (…) to March 13,” said a statement on the official website of the Ministry of Justice of the Tripoli based government.

According to the text, Saadi was present at the Sunday morning session and added that it is “his defense team which had requested a postponement to better prepare for the trial.”

Saadi, 42, is on trial for his alleged involvement in the bloody suppression of the revolt that ended the regime of his father in 2011 and for the 2005 murder of a former coach of Al-Ittihad football club.

The third son of the deposed president is also accused of “importing mercenaries, identifying and targeting the cities opposed to the old regime and thereby undermining the security and stability of the country”, the statement said.

The prison where he is held is controlled by Fajr Libya, a coalition of Islamist militias, who took control of Tripoli in August 2014 and has established a government and a parliament that are not recognized by the international community.

In August, state prosecutors had also said they were investigating a video that appeared to show guards beating Saadi. The video’s authenticity could not be independently verified.

Since Gaddafi’s fall, Libya has fallen into turmoil, with two rival governments and their allied armed factions fighting for control of the country and its oil resources. U.N. talks have so far failed to end the crisis.