Gadhafi official on trial

Buzeid Dorda, a former intelligence chief arrested last September in Tripoli, faces six charges connected with the Libyan regime's violent suppression of protesters during the country's 2011 uprising: conspiring to kill civilians, providing weapons for the purpose of killing civilians, conspiring to provoke civil war, denying people their right to protest, unlawful detention and abuse of authority.

"I deny all these points," Dorda said in his hearing. "I will supply the evidence when I testify in court."

Dorda appeared in court walking on crutches. He injured his legs two months ago when he fell from a second story window in an escape attempt. He assumed his role as head of external intelligence services under the former regime in 2009, and had previously served as Libya's UN envoy during the late 1990s.

After Tuesday's session in the Tripoli court, Judge Al-Ajaily Al-Maaloul adjourned the trial until June 26.

Observers say the trial is a test of the new Libyan regime's ability to carry out a fair trial of former members of Gadhafi's regime. Human rights activists are concerned that a weak central government and the lack of rule of law could jeopardize suspects' rights to a fail trial.

mz/jm (Reuters, AFP)