TheCable

The son of deposed Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi appeared in a Tripoli court to face charges of murdering a football player and other crimes before the 2011 revolution that ended his father’s rule.

The judge adjourned proceedings against Saadi Gaddafi, who was extradited from Niger last year, until December 6 after his attorney asked for more time to examine the case against him and to have access to military prosecutor documents.

Saadi, dressed in light blue prison garb, sat inside a black caged area of the courtroom.

In a related development, a Tripoli Court in July sentenced another of Gaddafi’s sons Saif al-Islam and eight other former officials to death for crimes committed during the 2011 uprising against his father, who was later killed by rebels.

The sentences have not been carried out although the men, including Gaddafi’s ex-spy chief, are in jail.

Since his capture, Saif had been held by forces in the western city of Zintan by a faction beyond central government control.

Since Gaddafi’s demise, Libya had fallen into turmoil, with two rival governments and their allied armed factions fighting for control of the country and its oil resources.

UN talks have so far failed to end the crisis.