Saadi Gaddafi in court in Libya for start of murder trial

Photographs of Saadi Gaddafi being shaved in a blue prison uniform in March 2014 Photo: Prison Media Office/Reuters

Saadi Gaddafi, the son of Colonel Gaddafi who fled abroad during Libya’s 2011 revolution and was extradited from Niger last year, has appeared before a Tripoli court.

Gaddafi is being tried for killing a football player and unlawful imprisonment.

But the judge adjourned his case until July, after defence lawyers asked for more time.

^{Saadi Gaddafi faces charges of killing a football player and unlawful imprisonment}

The 41-year-old, who had a brief career as a football player in Italy and had the reputation of a playboy during his father’s long rule, appeared in the Tripoli courtroom wearing a blue jumpsuit and watched the proceedings from behind bars.

Since escaping Libya in 2011, Saadi had been held under house arrest in the Niger capital Niamey. He was extradited back to Libya in March 2014.

Col Gaddafi’s more prominent son, Saif al-Islam, is being held captive by fighters in the western Libyan town of Zintan. They refuse to hand him over to a government they deem too weak to hold him.

Since the 2011 fall of Col Gaddafi, Libya has slipped deeper into chaoswith two rival governments and the armed factions that back them fighting for control. Islamist militants have gained ground during the period of lawlessness.