I want a trial in Libya, even if it means death: Saif Gaddafi

Saif al-Islam, the imprisoned son of the former Libyan dictator, has declared his wish to face justice in his home country, rather than at an international war crimes trial, even if that means risking the death penalty.

Gaddafi announced his opposition to extradition to face war crimes charges in The Hague, although International Criminal Court investigators believe his decision may have been made under duress.

The investigators met Gaddafi at a mountain-top detention centre south of Tripoli earlier this month.

They said he expressed a preference to be tried in his own country, but a government official was sitting in on the discussion. The ICC confirmed that Gaddafi had suffered torture and abuse since his capture last November.

Deportation for an ICC trial would remove the threat of a death sentence even if he was convicted of all counts.

Judges from the ICC travelled to Libya in advance of a ruling that the country was in violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions by not handing over the 39-year old one-time playboy. "I hope I can be tried here in my country, whether they will execute me or not," he told two ICC officials, who were accompanied by members of the Zintan militia that is holding Gaddafi.

An ICC report said his comments were "playing the part for the benefit of the [Libyan] prosecutor", who was present in the hour-long meeting. In a brief interval when the prosecutor left the room, the ICC team asked Gaddafi if he had been mistreated.

"Without saying a word, he waved his hand where two fingers were missing and pointed to a missing tooth," the report released by the ICC said.

The Tripoli government has lodged a formal appeal against the ICC's ruling that it is in breach of international law.