Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The fate of two Swiss businessmen held in Libya continues to cause debate in Switzerland. A foreign relations committee of the lower house of parliament Tuesday 8 September examined the letter sent by Libya that had reportedly promised the release of the men by the end of August. They remain in Libya and Swiss President Hans-Rudolf Merz has come under pressure from politicians and the media to insist that Libya keeps its part of the contract that should bring the men home and set up an independent commission to investigate the arrest in July 2008 of Hannibal Qadaffi and his wife. Neue Zuercher Zietung interviewed Libya’s vice president for foreign affairs, Khaled Kaim, who spoke of a misunderstanding concerning the language of the letter (see letter in full, below).

The parliamentary commission noted that it could be interpreted as a promise to return the men by the end of August, but it is not a 100 percent promise. It also noted that Switzerland is reaching the end of its patience with the time Libya is taking to allow the men to leave the country.

Libya, for its part, says the men are free to travel within Libya (they have remained at the Swiss embassy for over a year) and that they are not under arrest, but that they have broken the country’s immigration laws.

The letter, original version in English, sent by Libya’s Prime Minister al-Baghdadi al-Mahmudi to Swiss President Hans-Rudolf Merz, published by NZZ:

“Finally I would like to assure your Excellency that with regard to the two Swiss nationals who have been subject of judicial measures due to their violation of the immigration laws of Libya, they are and have always been free to move freely inside Libya and they have never been under any kind of arrest.

The legal process with regard to their case is under way and the General Prosecutor is dealing with the matter in accordance with the relevant Libyan laws and regulations and on an expeditiously manner. We anticipate that the procedures will be completed in a matter of days. Based on the normal course of things in similar situations we believe that their case will be determined very soon and they will be able to travel outside of Libya before the end of this month.”

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