The son of Libya’s former dictator Muammar Gaddafi has appeared in court on charges of harming state security, but the judge adjourned his hearing until September 19 to allow his defence lawyers more time.

The jailed son of the late dictator Muammar Gaddafi has made his first appearance in a local court on charges of harming state security, attempting to escape prison and insulting the nation’s new flag.

Libya will put deposed dictator Muammar Gaddafi’s son on trial, defying a demand by the International Criminal Court, the Libyan representative to the Hague court said yesterday.

Muammar Gaddafi's son, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, cannot get a fair trial in Libya, an International Criminal Court defence lawyer held in Libya for more than three weeks said today.

Muammar Gaddafi’s son and former heir apparent Saif al-Islam will be put on trial inside Libya and there will be a verdict before mid-June, a Libyan official said.

Forces loyal to deceased Muammar Gaddafi have seized control of a Libyan town and raised the ousted regime’s green flag.

The captured son of Muammar Gaddafi’s is being treated well but has not had access to a lawyer, an international rights group has said.

Libya’s transitional leaders have vowed to work with the International Criminal Court and the United Nations in investigating alleged crimes committed by Muammar Gaddafi’s captured son Saif al-Islam.

SAIF al-Islam Gaddafi was betrayed by a Libyan nomad, who says he was hired to help Muammar Gaddafi’s son escape to neighbouring Niger on the promise that he would be paid €1 million.

The captured son of Muammar Gaddafi is likely to be tried in Libya, but with judges from the International Criminal Court involved in the case.

The fate of captured Libyan dictator’s son Saif al-Islam Gaddafi was being worked out today by international justice officials and the country’s rulers.

The rebels who captured Muammar Gaddafi’s son and one-time heir apparent say they will hold him until a court system is set up in Libya and are demanding that he be tried inside the country.

Muammar Gaddafi’s former heir apparent Seif al-Islam has been captured by revolutionary fighters in the southern desert just over a month after his father was killed, setting off joyous celebrations across Libya and closing the door on the possibility that the fugitive son could stoke further insurrection.

Muammar Gaddfi’s son Saif al-Islam – the only member of the ruling family to remain at large – was captured as he travelled with aides in a convoy in Libya’s southern desert, officials said today.

LIBYAN rebels launched an assault to drive forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi out of a strategic city on Tripoli’s outskirts, and said that encircled Gaddafi troops had abandoned two towns further west.

Muammar Gaddafi loyalists staged a show of support in the Libyan capital today, claiming the rebel insurgency is nearing its end.

NATO carried out missile strikes on targets in the Tripoli area yesterday that appeared to include Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi’s compound, witnesses said.

CASH-STRAPPED Libyan rebels won a financial lifeline potentially worth billions of dollars from the United States and other allies yesterday, as forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi pounded a rebel town in the west.

Muammar Gaddafi continued bombarding rebels with rockets and artillery today as efforts to find a solution to the Libyan crisis rumbled on.

International allies will gather in London today to discuss the next steps for Libya after rebels made significant advances amid continued coalition air strikes on regime forces.

British Prime Minister David Cameron declared Europe united this afternoon on the military campaign in Libya, the need to kick-start economies, and on stress tests for all nuclear plants by the end of the year.

International airstrikes forced Muammar Gaddafi's tanks back from the western city of Misrata today, giving civilians who endured more than a week of attacks a respite.

MUAMMAR GADDAFI’S forces attacked two west Libyan towns yesterday, killing dozens, while rebels were pinned down in the east and NATO tried to resolve a dispute over who should lead the Western air campaign.

THERE were conflicting reports of fighting in Libya last night as countries prepared to enforce a no-fly zone over the country and the west, allied with the Arab League, the African Union and the UN, prepare to meet in Paris today.

Muammar Gaddafi called today on Libyans in the rebel-held east of the country to take back control from opposition leaders.

Libyan rebels have fought off an attempt by Muammar Gaddafi's troops to retake a key oil town in a day-long battle.

The US Senate condemned the “gross and systematic violations of human rights in Libya” and demanded that its leader Muammar Gaddafi leave office.