THE son of Colonel Muammar Gadaffi was sentenced to death along with eight former government officials yesterday in a “show trial” in Tripoli.

Seif al-Islam Gadaffi was convicted in absentia of incitement to murder and rape during the 2011 Nato war on Libya to overthrow the state brought to power by his father in 1969.

Col Gadaffi was murdered by a rebel mob during the war.

The trial was conducted by the Lubya Dawn faction that has driven the Nato-installed government out of the capital Tripoli and left it controlling only the eastern half of the country from Tobruk.

Mr Gadaffi was not present as a militia loyal to the Tobruk government is holding him prisoner and refused to hand him over to the court.

The eight others sentenced to death included former intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senoussi, who was in the court’s custody, foreign intelligence chief Abuzed Omar-Dorda and Prime Minister Baghdadi al-Mahmoudi.

Lawyer John Jones, who has been involved in defending Mr Gadaffi, said: “It was clearly a show trial in respect to all of the defendants. It was basically a trial by militia.”

Defendants have complained of torture in prison and intimidation of their lawyers, leading them to quit the case.

A total of 38 former government officials were on trial of which only 29 were in court. Six were sentenced to life in prison yesterday while four were cleared of charges.