Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam to appear in court

Saif al-Islam, the son of deposed Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, will appear in court on Thursday in the town of Zintan, where a militia has held him since his capture in November 2011, a local council official said.

Saif al-Islam is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on war crimes charges, but his court appearance relates to charges that he gave information to an ICC lawyer last year that could endanger national security.

The ICC lawyer, Australian Melinda Taylor, was herself arrested and held for three weeks after the meeting. She has since said her detention proved that Saif al-Islam could not receive a fair trial in Libya and should be tried in The Hague.

Libya, which wants to try Saif al-Islam itself, has yet to indict him for war crimes, although the public prosecutor has said a case is being prepared and will soon go to court. Reuters