Libya starts trial of ex-Gaddafi officials, but sons absent

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libyan prosecutors on Monday began the trial of deposed leader Muammar Gaddafi's sons and former regime officials in a major test for the North African state's transition to a democracy. Neither Saadi Gaddafi or Saif al-Islam were in the courtroom at Tripoli's Al-Hadba prison, but Gaddafi's ex-spy chief Abdullah al-Senussi was among the former officials sitting behind a fenced-off section before the judge, a Reuters reporter said. (Reporting by Julia Payne in Tripoli; writing by Patrick Markey; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall)