Tripoli, 28 June:
Eight Libyans imprisoned in Iraq for fighting against Iraqi and coalition forces are to be released, it has been . . .[restrict]announced.
The Iraqi-Libyan relations coordinator, Ambassador Hazem Jabouri, confirmed that the amnesty had been ordered by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki, and that a high-level Iraqi delegation will arrive in Libya today or tomorrow to discuss the details of the release, including the date the prisoners will be handed over.
According to Iraqi reports there are more than 200 Libyans in Iraqi jails, many accused of being members of Al-Qaeda. There has been no announcement regarding the fate of the rest of these prisoners, but it is known that the sentences from which the eight detainees to be released have been pardoned ranged from long-term imprisonment to the death penalty.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari has said in the past that Iraq wants to solve the issue of Libyan prisoners in the country, but that it must be done “on a legal and judicial basis”. [/restrict]
