No Result
View All Result
Thursday, October 16, 2025
23 °c
Tripoli
24 ° Sat
24 ° Sun
  • Advertising
  • Contact
LibyaHerald
  • Home
  • Libya
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Magazine
  • Advertising
  • Login
  • Register
SUBSCRIBE
  • Home
  • Libya
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Magazine
  • Advertising
  • Login
  • Register
No Result
View All Result
LibyaHerald
No Result
View All Result
Home Libya

Tripoli TV station attacked, officials kidnapped

byMichel Cousins
March 9, 2013
Reading Time: 2 mins read
A A
Tripoli TV station attacked, officials kidnapped

By Ahmed Elumami

Tripoli, 7 March 2013:

Several hundred gunmen stormed Alassema . . .[restrict]TV station this afternoon, Thursday, in Tripoli’s Gurgi district, smashed the place up and kidnapped five members of staff including the channel’s manager and its chief executive officer.

According to Rajab Ben Gazi, one of Alassema’s presenters who was present during the attack those involved were a mix of revolutionaries, Islamists and civilians.  “Some of them were shouting ‘the blood of the martyrs will not go in vain’. Others set fire to part of the building and  destroyed a lot of the channel equipment,” he said.

RELATED POSTS

Top law firm joins new British Libyan Business Association

An academy with a difference in Tripoli

Another member of staff told the Libya Herald that some were dressed in uniform and others in civilian clothes. They accused the station of causing fitna – dissension and discord.

The gunmen then seized channel owner Juma Osta and his secretary, Mohamed Atif, its former executive director, Nabil Shebani, and two Alassema presenters, Mohamed Huni and Mahmoud Sharkisi.

Shebani, who is no longer with Alassema, apparently taken for attempting to film the militias as they were seizing Osta.

“They accused us of being linked to Mahmoud Jibril (the head of the National Force Alliance) and said that our manager, Juma Usta, is a Qaddafi loyalists because he worked as manager of a Chamber Commerce and Industry during  the Qaddafi regime,” Ben Gazi said.

“The gunmen were asking about the editors of the channel and who was the responsible for the news tickers,” he added.

”They told me to leave Tripoli immediately and return to Misrata.”

The gunmen later released Sharkisi, Huni and Atif. Sharkisi said that he had been treated respectfully and that no one touched or hurt him.

Osta and Shebani are still missing.

Following the attack, a force from the Chief General Staff arrived to assess the situation to take necessary measures to secure the place and assess the damage.

There are allegations circulating in Tripoli this evening linking the attack to Tuesday’s seizure of Congress members and the attempt to force them to pass the “Political Isolation Law” which would ban senior Qaddafi officials from office, and the shooting at Congress President Mohamed Magarief’s car afterwards.

This is not the first attack against Alassema. At the beginning of February, an Alassema TV crew outside the General National Congress building in Tripoli were attacked and beaten by security guards.

Last August, Shebani and two Alassema journalists were arrested by the Supreme Security Committee which objected to the station’s  coverage of the destruction by Salafists of the Al-Sha’ab mosque in Tripoli.

Ironically, earlier today before the raid and seizure, the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) issued a statement saying that it was deeply concerned about attacks on media organisations in Libya and threats against journalists.  It called on Libyans to respect freedom of the press.

 

 

 

  [/restrict]

Tags: AlassemaLibya

Related Posts

‘‘U.S. experts’’ visit Sirte’s single pivot agricultural irrigation circles – 87 irrigation circles will be restarted in 2025
Libya

National Development Authority signs contract to develop Sirte’s Mahari Hotel and the Guest Palaces area in line with Libya’s 2030 Vision

October 13, 2025
Atletico Madrid win Benghazi’s Reconstruction Cup after beating Inter Milan 4-3 on penalties – great political showpiece for Hafter
Libya

Atletico Madrid win Benghazi’s Reconstruction Cup after beating Inter Milan 4-3 on penalties – great political showpiece for Hafter

October 13, 2025
No saviour for Libya except through constitutional based elections to end transitional periods: Grand Mufti
Libya

Grand Mufti raises objections to CBL’s supposedly Islamic – Sharia compliant certificates of deposit

October 12, 2025
Attorney General orders arrests at Jumhouria bank branch for embezzlement
Libya

Two detained in Aman bank Ajdabiya branch for LD 1.063 million fraud to trade in foreign currency

October 10, 2025
Nearly 11,000 migrants repatriated from Libya and 3,165 Mediterranean fatalities: IOM
Libya

IOM identifies 894,890 migrants in Libya from 45 nationalities in May-July 2025 reporting period – 18 percent up on 2024

October 10, 2025
Attorney General orders arrests at Jumhouria bank branch for embezzlement
Libya

Director of Documentary Credit Department and his Deputy at Libyan Foreign Bank detained

October 10, 2025
Next Post

Libya: The Transition to Environmental Sustainability

Zeidan meets with Egyptian border tribal leaders over visas

libyaherald-Ads

Top Stories

  • Atletico Madrid win Benghazi’s Reconstruction Cup after beating Inter Milan 4-3 on penalties – great political showpiece for Hafter

    Atletico Madrid win Benghazi’s Reconstruction Cup after beating Inter Milan 4-3 on penalties – great political showpiece for Hafter

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Emirates Airlines security delegation visits Tripoli to begin Mitiga Airport inspection tour

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • After its withdrawal from circulation of certain banknotes, CBL reveals that currency printed unofficially in Russia totalled to 6.5 billion dinars

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • IOM identifies 894,890 migrants in Libya from 45 nationalities in May-July 2025 reporting period – 18 percent up on 2024

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Grand Mufti raises objections to CBL’s supposedly Islamic – Sharia compliant certificates of deposit

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
ADVERTISEMENT
LibyaHerald

The Libya Herald first appeared on 17 February 2012 – the first anniversary of the Libyan Revolution. Since then, it has become a favourite go-to source on news about Libya, for many in Libya and around the world, regularly attracting millions of hits.

Recent News

Economic Conference on Diversifying Sources of Income held in Tripoli

LBC to hold virtual workshop with IsDB on export mechanisms and access to international markets

Sitemap

  • Why subscribe?
  • Terms & Conditions
  • FAQs
  • Copyright & Intellectual Property Rights
  • Subscribe now

Newsletters

    Be the first to know latest important news & events directly to your inbox.

    Sending ...

    By signing up, I agree to our TOS and Privacy Policy.

    © 2022 LibyaHerald - Powered by Sparx Solutions.

    Welcome Back!

    Login to your account below

    Forgotten Password? Sign Up

    Create New Account!

    Fill the forms below to register

    *By registering into our website, you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.
    All fields are required. Log In

    Retrieve your password

    Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

    Log In
    No Result
    View All Result
    • Login
    • Sign Up
    • Libya
    • Business
    • Advertising
    • About us
    • BusinessEye Magazine
    • Letters
    • Features
    • Why subscribe?
    • FAQs
    • Contact

    © 2022 LibyaHerald - Powered by Sparx Solutions.

    This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.