The first trial of a senior official accused of killing demonstrators in the 2011 uprising against Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi opened yesterday.

Former foreign intelligence chief Bouzid Dorda is accused of ordering security forces to “kill demonstrators and fire live ammunition at them” during the 2011 uprising that ended Gaddafi’s rule.

Dorda is the first of the slain dictator’s henchmen to appear in court since Gaddafi was captured and killed in October last year.

He is charged with detaining people without evidence of any crimes and using or threatening force to prevent others from enjoying their political rights.

Dorda is also accused of organising members of his tribe into an armed militia with the aim of sparking a civil war.

“I deny these accusations which contradict what Idid during the events,” Dorda said in reference to last year’s revolt.

Dressed in a blue prisoner outfit, he entered the courtroom using crutches and sat in a caged section, an AFP journalist at the scene said.

Dorda, who served as Libya’s UN envoy in thelate 1990s and replaced Mussa Kussa as head ofexternal intelligence services in 2009, was detained in September by forces loyal to the ruling NationalTransitional Council.

The trial was adjourned until June 26 at the request of his defence lawyer, Daw al-Mansuri, who wanted more time to review the case.