Saif Gaddafi appears in court charged with trying to escape jail and insulting new Libyan regime’s flag

• Saif-al Islam Gaddafi went on trial in the western town of Zintan
• He has been held there by militia since his capture in November 2011

By Steve Nolan

Published: 13:33 EST, 17 January 2013 | Updated: 13:36 EST, 17 January 2013

The son of former Libyan dictator Colonel Gaddafi has appeared in court today charged with attempting to escape jail, harming state security and insulting the new regime's flag.

Saif-al Islam, who had been considered the most natural successor to his father before the fall of his regime in 2011, appeared in court in the western town of Zintan where he is being held by militiamen, according to the official Libyan news agency LANA.

The trial is said to be linked with his meeting in June with an International Criminal Court delegation accused of smuggling documents to him.

His ICC appointed lawyer, Australian Melinda Taylor, was herself arrested and held for three weeks on suspicion of handing her client documents that could endanger national security.

Trial: Saif-al Islam Gaddafi, left, son of former Libyan dictator Colonel Muammar Gaddafi appeared in court in Libya today

A colleague of Ms Taylor's was also arrested. Neither were present in court today.

Gadaffi is wanted for war crimes by the ICC who wish to extradite him to The Hague but Libyan officials want to try him at home where he could face the death penalty.

Taha Baara, spokesman for the prosecutor,said: 'He is charged with involvement with the ICC delegation which is accused of carrying papers and other things related to the security of the Libyan state.

'Investigations for trying him for war crimes are over and he will be put on trial for that at a later time.'

The trial was adjourned until May as there was no lawyer to represent him.

Protests against his father Colonel Muammar Gaddafi began in Libya in February 2011. His heavy handed response to the protests sparked widespread uprising.

Seif al-Islam Gaddafi is pictured shortly after his capture in November 2011 in the custody of revolutionary fighters in Zintan, Libya

Amid bloody civil war, several major cities declared themselves free of Gaddafi rule and the ICC issued arrest warrants for Colonel Gaddafi and Saif-al Islam.

Colonel Gaddafi was eventually captured and killed in October 2011.

Former playboy Saif-al Islam faces trial for killing, torturing and persecuting civilians in the early days of the uprising.

He was arrested in November 2011 in Libya’s southern desert while trying to flee to Niger. Since then, he has been held at a secret location in Zintan, western Libya.

He had to have part of the forefinger and thumb on his right hand removed once captured after he was injured in a Nato airstrike while on the run.

Uprising: Colonel Gaddafi's regime fell after a bloody civil war in Libya. rebel forces are pictured on the lookout during the war

Thousands of Libyans celebrated in the streets after hearing that the fugitive, who remained loyal to his father’s murderous rule to the end, had been captured without a struggle.

Tony Blair's Government had tried to get Saif-al Islam a place at Oxford University in 2002, but the institution rejected him because of concerns that he wasn't bright enough.

He later received a PhD from the London School of Economics.

He reportedly once threw wild parties in the south of France and owned a £10million mansion in Hampstead, London.