Saif al-Islam Gaddafi sentenced to death for Libya war crimes

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi appeared by video link

EX-LIBYAN dictator Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's son has been sentenced to death by firing squad by a Libyan court for war crimes during the 2011 revolution.

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi - which means Sword of Islam - was given the death sentence along with eight others at a court in Libya over war crimes linked to the revolution four-years-ago.

The second son of the late Gaddafi - who studied for a PhD at the London School of Economics - was on trial with 36 others also in the Colonel's inner circle, accused of suppressing protests during the uprising.
 

The 43-year-old appeared in court by video link from the town of Zintan in Libya where he has been held since 2011 by a former rebel group who refuse to release him.
 

Also sentenced to death today was Gaddafi's former head of intelligence, Abdallah al-Senousi and former Prime Minister Baghdadi al-Mahmoudi.
 

The only member of the Gaddafi family left in Libya following the revolution, Saif al-Islam was previously entertained by the Royal family at Buckingham Palace and at Windsor Castle.
 

He has also claimed to be a personal friend of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
 

Prosecutors say he was part of his father's plans to "quell, by all means, the civilian demonstrations against the Gaddafi regime".
 

Today's 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.