Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Two Swiss men who were whisked away to a secret location, without outside contact, by the Libyan government in October have been turned over to the Swiss embassy in Tripoli, Libya. The men were kidnapped after being lured away on the pretext of needing medical examinations. The two have been waiting for exit visas to leave the country, and they have been at the centre of a tense political standoff between Bern and Tripoli.
The men have been detained since shortly after a July 2008 incident involving the son of Libyan leader Muammar Qadafi. Hannibal Qadafi and his wife were arrested in Geneva for abusing their household staff while staying at the President Wilson hotel in the city centre.
The Swiss government issued a terse statement Monday 9 November to say the Swiss citizens had been returned “by the Libyan authorities without any explanations. According to the embassy, both Swiss are as well as can be expected under the circumstances. More information cannot be provided at this time.”
The government previously referred to the men as “businessmen” and avoided the term “kidnapped”, in line with Libyan insistence they were not being detained.
Background: GenevaLunch on Qadaffi
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News story, GenevaLunch, 9 November 2009.
Filed under: Politics
Tags: detained, Hannibal Qadaffi, kidnapped, Libya, Swiss citizens