The head of the Tripoli branch of the newly formed National Democratic Mainstream, Ali Al-Lafi, was kidnapped by four men outside . . .[restrict]his home in Ben Ashur on Wednesday morning and held for 24 hours before being rescued by a team from the Zintan brigade on Thursday morning.
The seizure was disclosed on Thursday afternoon by a colleague at the organisation’s launch of its Tripoli branch at the city’s Bab Al-Bahr Hotel.
Al-Alafi later told Libya Herald that two of the men who kidnapped him were from Zuara, one was from Zawia and the fourth from Riqdalin. He said that the gang had “wanted money” but nonetheless was certain that they had been put up to it by the “military in Zawia”. Asked if he had been deliberately targeted, he replied “For sure!”
He did not look the worse for his ordeal but did not speak at the launch. His speech was read out by his colleague, Abduladeem Gabasa, head of the ogranisation’s Zawia branch.
The Mainstream wants parties and NGOs to cooperate to ensure that a fully functioning democratic and tolerant system is installed in Libya. Thursday’s Tripoli branch launch was addressed by representatives from a number of parties and NGOs including the Muslim Brotherhood and the centrist National Solidarity Party headed by Arab Banking Corporation founder Abdulla Saudi. [/restrict]
