A court in Tripoli sentenced Saif al-Islam Gadhafi, son of late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, and eight former officials to death by firing squad. Saif al-Islam was not present at the court but appeared via video at the start of the proceedings. He is being held in the western mountain town of Zintan, having been captured by Zintan militias in November 2011 after the collapse of his father’s regime under attack by local rebel fighters and a NATO air campaign. Among the former officials tried and convicted were intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi, Prime Minister Baghdadi al-Mahmoudi, military commander Mansour Dao and external intelligence chief Abu Zeid Dorda.

All the defendants have the right to appeal. Their sentences must be confirmed or rejected by Libya’s Supreme Court within 60 days. The legal proceedings and convictions have elicited condemnation from law experts and international rights groups, including Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the International Bar Association.

After sentencing, John Jones, Saif al-Islam’s London-based attorney, called the proceedings a “show trial,” questioning the legitimacy of the entire process. “The whole thing is illegitimate from start to finish,” he charged, labeling the verdict a “judicially sanctioned execution.” Jones had been leading efforts to have Gadhafi tried before the International Criminal Court, at The Hague, which had issued an arrest warrant for him in June 2011.

Jones is not alone in questioning the legality of the court. Even Al-Mabrouk Ghraira Omran, justice minister in Libya's internationally recognized government, condemned the sentences as illegal and called on the international community not to recognize them. The government in Tripoli lacks credibility among the international community, which recognizes the Tobruk-based elected government led by Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni that controls the eastern part of the country.