LIBYA-SECURITY/COURT SAIF CLEAN Libyan court sentences Gaddafi son, 8 ex-officials to death
Record ID:
145988
LIBYA-SECURITY/COURT SAIF CLEAN Libyan court sentences Gaddafi son, 8 ex-officials to death
- Title: LIBYA-SECURITY/COURT SAIF CLEAN Libyan court sentences Gaddafi son, 8 ex-officials to death
- Date: 28th July 2015
- Summary: TRIPOLI, LIBYA (JULY 28, 2015) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF TRIPOLI COURT HOUSE SIGN ON COURT HOUSE READING (Arabic): "TRIPOLI APPEALS COURT, CRIMINAL DEPARTMENT" SECURITY FORCES IN FRONT OF THE COURT HOUSE POLICE AND OTHER SECURITY FORCES VEHICLES OUTSIDE THE COURT HOUSE LIBYAN INDEPENDENCE FLAG FLYING ON TOP OF AN ARMOURED VEHICLE VARIOUS OF JUDGE SAT AT BENCH AND ACCUSED IN CAGE IN THE COURT ROOM (SOUNDBITE) (ARABIC) JUDGE OVERSEEING THE VERDICT, SAYING: "First convictions of the accused Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, second Abdullah Mohammed al-Senussi, third Baghdadi Ali al-Mahmoudi, fourth Mansour Dou Ibrahim, fifth Abu Zeid Omar al-Dawradah, sixth Milad Daman, and the tenth Munther al-Ghunaimi, and the fifteenth Abdel Hamid Uhaida, and the thirty-first Uweidat Ghandour, will all be punished to death by firing squad." VARIOUS OF THE ACCUSED SITTING IN A CAGE VARIOUS OF ABU ZEID AL-DAWRADAH BEHIND BARS OF CAGE VARIOUS OF ABDULLAH AL-SENUSSI BEHIND BARS OF CAGE VARIOUS OF BAGHDADI AL-MAHMOUDI THE CAGE IN WHICH THE PRISONERS ARE KEPT ATTORNEY GENERAL SADIQ AL-SUR GIVING NEWS BRIEFING (SOUNDBITE) (ARABIC) ATTORNEY GENERAL, SADIQ AL-SUR, SAYING: "The verdict has condemned the defendants Saif al-Islam, Abdullah al-Senussi, Baghdadi al-Mahmoudi, Mansour Dou, Abu Zeid al-Dawradah, Milad Daman, Munther al-Ghunaimi, Abdel Hamid Uhaida and Uweidat Abu Soufa, to death by firing squad." NEWS BRIEFING IN PROGRESS
- Embargoed: 12th August 2015 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Libya
- Country: Libya
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA2IZ7I6Z5WSNMHUNQC9BWEF6NM
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: SHOT 7 VIDEO QUALITY AS INCOMING - PICTURE GOES DARK 33 SECONDS INTO SHOT
A Libyan court on Tuesday (July 28) sentenced Muammar Gaddafi's most prominent son, Saif al-Islam, and eight others to death for war crimes including killings of protesters during the 2011 revolution that ended his father's rule.
The former Gaddafi regime officials sentenced to die by firing squad included former intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi and ex-prime minister Baghdadi al-Mahmoudi, the judge announced during the verdict.
"First convictions of the accused Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, second Abdullah Mohammed al-Senussi, third Baghdadi Ali al-Mahmoudi, fourth Mansour Dou Ibrahim, fifth Abu Zeid Omar al-Dawradah, sixth Milad Daman, and the tenth Munther al-Ghunaimi, and the fifteenth Abdel Hamid Uhaida, and the thirty-first Uweidat Ghandour, will all be punished to death by firing squad," the presiding judge said in court.
Members of the accused watched the verdict being delivered from behind bars.
The verdict on Saif al-Islam was passed in absentia in Tripoli since he has been held since 2011 by a former rebel group in the mountainous Zintan region beyond central government control.
Saif appeared by video link only at the start of the trial. The Zintanis have refused to hand him over, saying they do not trust authorities in Tripoli to make sure he does not escape, but agreed to let him be tried there.
In a news conference in Tripoli on Tuesday, Attorney General Sadiq al-Sur did not spell out the charges on which the verdict was based, referring to the expected written ruling.
"The verdict has condemned the defendants Saif al-Islam, and Abdullah al-Senussi and Baghdadi al-Mahmoudi and Mansour Dou and Abu Zeid al-Dawradah, and Milad Daman and Munther al-Ghunaimi, and Abdel Hamid Uhaida, and Uweidat Abu Soufa, to death by firing squad," he said.
Defendants had been accused of a range of offences including the use of deadly force against unarmed demonstrators, as well as corruption.
Eight ex-officials received life sentences and seven jail terms of 12 years each, added Attorney General Sadiq al-Sur, who is also chief investigator at the Tripoli state prosecutor's office.
Four of the 37 defendants were acquitted, others got shorter jail terms.
Muammar Gaddafi himself was killed by rebels who captured him after months on the run.
The sentences can be appealed and must be confirmed by Libya's Supreme Court, but legal experts and rights advocates said the proceeding was tainted and politicised from the start.
The trial outcome drew swift criticism abroad, with Human Rights Watch and a prominent international lawyer saying it was riddled with legal flaws and carried out amid widespread lawlessness undermining the credibility of the judiciary. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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