Tripoli, 11 April 2013:
Four Egyptians who were imprisoned in Benghazi on charges of proselytising have been released today, Thursday, according to . . .[restrict]the Middle East news agency MENA.
All charges against them have been dropped, the Cairo-based agency said.
The prisoners were expected to be released a fortnight ago, after Egypt handed over two senior Qaddafi-era officials, Ali Mohamed Marya and Mohamed Ibrahim Mansour, who face charges in Libya of corruption.
After the extradition, the Egyptian assistant chief prosector, Hassan Yassine, said he had received promises from Libyan officials that the four would be released in a matter of days, but the process appears to have been delayed.
It is understood that their release formed part of a prisoner-swap deal brokered when Libya and Egypt signed a Memorandum of Understanding, guaranteeing fair trials for suspects extradited to Libya.
Qaddafi’s cousin and former coordinator of Libyan-Egyptian relations, Ahmed Qaddaf Al-Dam, is also facing extradition. He is currently being interrogated in an Egyptian jail for allegedly opening fire at Egyptian police on the night of his arrest.
Also today, MENA said that Libya has officially agreed to support the Egypt’s cash-strapped economy with a $2 billion interest-free loan. The GNC had previously denied the claim and has not yet confirmed this latest report.
The timing of the loan has led to speculation that it is connected to Egypt’s arrest of Qaddaf Al-Dam and extradition of Marya and Mansour. The move could also be preemptive, as Libya has reportedly given Egypt a long list of wanted regime-era officials. [/restrict]
