The proceedings against the son of late dictator Moammar Gaddafi before a militia-backed court in a western Libyan town have been adjourned until the end of February, the Associated Press reports.

Seif al-Islam Gaddafi has been held since the end of Libya's 2011 conflict by a militia in Zintan, where he briefly appeared in a local court on Thursday, Dec 12. The judge then adjourned the proceedings until Feb 27.

He is separately being tried in absentia in the capital, Tripoli, but the Zintan militia has refused to hand him over — a sign of the central government's weakness.

In Tripoli, he faces charges with nearly 40 Gaddafi regime figures, including notorious spymaster Abdullah al-Senoussi.

Seif al-Islam is also wanted by the International Criminal Court in The Hague on charges of crimes against humanity.