Ashraf Abdul Ahab TRIPOLI – The trials of three senior Gaddafi officials have now been adjourned following defense challenges to the legality of the proceedings or because prosecutors want more time to gather new witness statements. This week, the cases of the former foreign minister Abdel-Ati Al-Obeidi and former secretary general of the General People's Congress Mohammed Zwai were adjourned. Obeidi and Zwai are accused in connection with the $2.7 billion in compensation payments for families of those killed in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, charges which they both deny. Their trial has been adjourned until 15 October. The trial of Gaddafi's external security chief Abu-Zeid Omar Dorda was also adjourned indefinitely this week following a challenge from his lawyer regarding the legality of the proceedings. After deliberation, the judge decided to suspend the court proceedings. The case is now adjourned pending the outcome of the appeal to the Supreme Constitutional Court, over the wording of Article II of law 7 relating to the abolition of the People's Court. The public prosecutor also demanded more time to provide testimonies from new witnesses that have recently been arrested, some of whom were officers in Dorda's External Security Department. The prosecutor stated that they had confessed that they took their orders personally from the accused and received weapons which they then distributed amongst brigades which had been formed to fight against the revolutionaries. – Libya Herald
