Tripoli: A Libyan court sentenced Muammar Gaddafi's most prominent son, Saif al-Islam, and eight others to death on Tuesday for war crimes including killing protesters during the 2011 revolution that ended his father's rule.

The former Gaddafi regime officials sentenced to die by firing squad included former intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi and ex-prime minister Baghdadi al-Mahmoudi, said Sadiq al-Sur, chief investigator at the Tripoli state prosecutor's office.

The trial outcome drew swift criticism abroad, with Human Rights Watch and a prominent international lawyer saying it was riddled with legal flaws and carried out amid widespread lawlessness undermining the credibility of the judiciary.

Eight ex-officials received life sentences and seven jail terms of 12 years each, Sadiq said. Four of the 37 defendants were acquitted, while others received shorter jail terms.