Libyan court gives death sentence to Gaddafi son Saif al-Islam

A Libyan court sentenced Seif al-Islam, to death…

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi was on trial with 37 other former Libyan officials who were accused of committing war crimes during the events in 2011 that ended in the senior Gaddafi’s overthrow and death, 9news reported.

The verdict on al-Islam was passed in absentia since he has been held since 2011 by a former rebel group in Zintan region that opposes the Tripoli government.

Seif al-Islam also is wanted by the global Criminal Court in The Hague on charges of crimes against humanity.

Unable to attend the trial, Saif spoke to the court via a video link after his captors refused to allow him to leave Zintan. Now there are two rival governments in Libya, the internationally-recognized Libyan government in Tobruk and the other in Tripoli, Russia- based Sputnik News reported on Tuesday.

The UN Security Council referred the conflict in Libya to the ICC in February 2011 amid Gaddafi’s repression of the popular uprising against his decades-old regime at the height of the Arab Spring.