Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, attends a hearing behind bars in a courtroom in Zintan May 25, 2014. [Photo/Agencies]

CAIRO - A Libyan court passed a death sentence in absentia on Muammar Gaddafi's most prominent son, Saif al-Islam, on Tuesday for suppressing peaceful protests during the country's 2011 revolution that ended his father's rule.

The court also handed down in a televised session a death sentence by firing squad to Gaddafi's former spy chief, Abdullah al-Senussi, and his former prime minister, Baghdadi al-Mahmoudi.

The verdict on al-Islam was passed in absentia since he has been held since 2011 by a former rebel group in Zintan region that opposes the Tripoli government, which is not recognised by world powers.