Muammar Gaddafi's son appears in court

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.

Seif al-Islam Gaddafi, the ousted leader's long-time heir apparent, appeared in court in the western town of Zintan where he is being held by militiamen, the official Libyan news agency LANA says.

It says the trial is linked to his June meeting with an International Criminal Court delegation accused of smuggling documents to him.

The delegation included a lawyer assigned by ICC to represent Seif al-Islam in a separate case in which he is charged with crimes against humanity during the 2011 popular uprising against his father's four-decade rule.

The trial was adjourned until May.

AP