By Ashraf Abdul-Wahab.
Tripoli, 28 August:
The trial of Abuzeid Dorda, Qaddafi’s external intelligence chief, was restarted this morning, having been adjourned three . . .[restrict]times since it started in June, only for it to be adjourned again until 11 September.
The trial began with an address by Dorda’s defence counsel, Dhou Mansouri Oun. The lawyer said that the trial had been compromised by many shortcomings, and requested an investigation regarding 12 missing documents from the case file.
He also demanded an investigation into the treatment of his client between his arrest on 11 November and his interview with the public prosecutor on 9 April. He pointed out that his client had been in good health at the time of his detention, but was now almost disabled, raising suspicions of torture.
Oun described the case as unconstitutional, on which grounds he asked for the case to be dropped. He then asked if the court might be adjourned yet again, to give the defence time to prepare a list of witnesses. The prosecuting counsel asked for these requests to be ignored as he said they were simply attempts to waste time and prolong the trial.
The prosecutor also presented cases against other defendants who are set to testify against the accused.
The court adjourned for deliberation, which lasted about 20 minutes, after which the judge declared that he had ruled in favour of the defence, allowing the case to be adjourned until 9 November.
Dorda faces six charges: conspiracy to commit murder, providing arms for the murder of civilians, planning civil war, denying the freedom to protest, illegal arrest and abuse of authority, including mismanagement of public funds. [/restrict]
