Trial of Gaddafi spy chief adjourned

TRIPOLI — The Libya trial of ex-intelligence chief Bouzid Dorda, the first of Muammar Gaddafi’s top officials to face justice, was postponed again Tuesday after the defense team asked for more time to review his case.

“The trial was postponed until August 28 to allow the defense to study the case,” defense lawyer Saleh Al-Faituri said.

The former foreign intelligence chief, whose trial began on June 5, is accused of ordering security forces to use live ammunition against demonstrators last year.

He faces five other charges, including detaining people without evidence of any crime and organizing members of his tribe into an armed militia with the aim of sparking a civil war.

His is the first public trial of a senior Libyan official accused of killing demonstrators in the 2011 uprising that ended Gaddafi’s rule. Tuesday was the third time the defense is granted more time to study the case. — AFP