GENEVA - A Swiss court ruled Monday in favour of a son of Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi in a case against the canton of Geneva and a newspaper over leaked police mugshots taken when he was arrested, an official said.

The court ordered the canton and the newspaper to pay the costs of the publication of Monday's judgment, but rejected 100,000 francs (69,500 euros, 95,500 dollars) in damages sought by the son, Hannibal Kadhafi.

"I confirm that the tribunal has ruled that there was damage done to the personality... and that there was no public interest in publishing this photo, and there is therefore a responsibility" borne by the canton and the newspaper, said Bernard Fabre, a Geneva local official.

Hannibal Kadhafi and his wife were suspected of mistreating two of their domestic staff in a Geneva hotel and were held for two days in July 2008.

The brief arrest sparked a major diplomatic dispute between Switzerland and Libya that is still not settled. Ties were further strained when the Tribune de Geneve newspaper published police mugshots of Hannibal.

On Monday, the court ruled that the canton government and the newspaper were at fault and that the judgment must be published in the Tribune de Geneve. The ruling must also appear on the newspaper's website for a month.

Three-quarters of the fees incurred in the publication of the judgment would be borne by Geneva, while the rest would be borne by the newspaper.

Ahead of the court hearing, the Geneva authorities had acknowledged responsibility for the leak and said they were ready to pay compensation to Hannibal Kadhafi.

A spokesman for the Libyan government Mohamed Baayaou said the ruling was "a victory for justice in Geneva over (political) interests and conspiracies."

He said Switzerland had "turned a dark page" in its conflict with Libya and urged Swiss authorities to accept international mediation in the dispute.

"Libya does not want revenge and does not feel humiliated. It only wants justice to be done," he said.

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