By Ashraf Abdul Wahab.
Tripoli, 27 June:
- Abuzeid Dorda arriving for trial . . .[restrict]in Tripoli yesterday
The trial of Abuzeid Dorda, Muammar Qaddafi’s former prime minister, was delayed for a second time yesterday by an appeals court in Tripoli.
The adjournment until 10 July was to give Dorda’s lawyer, Mansour Daou, more time to study the charges against his client, which include ordering attacks on civilians and helping to incite sedition and civil war.
The file against Dorda is more than 3,000 pages long, and Daou objected that he had not been given enough time to prepare, having been given just ten more days since the trial’s initial postponement on 16 June.
Daou also objected to the heavy security presence in the court, which he claimed “put the administration of justice at risk”, a claim rejected by the public prosecutor, who insisted they did not exceed the limit of reasonable security according to international standards.
Dorda is the first senior Qaddafi official to stand trial since the end of last years revolution, and international observers are watching the case closely to assess whether proceedings are deemed free and fair. [/restrict]
