By Libya Herald staff.
Tripoli, 10 October 2013:
Following the kidnapping this morning of the Prime Minister at Tripoli’s Corinthia Hotel, other ministers . . .[restrict]have been taken to safety by the army because of fears that they may be abducted as well. A senior government official told the Libya Herald that they are currently meeting in a cabinet session chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Sadiq Abdulkarim. He is also acting Interior Minister.
Meanwhile the President of Congress, Nuri Abu Sahmain, is negotiating with the Counter Crime Agency to secure Ali Zeidan’s release. The department, part of the Interior Ministry, is reported to be involved in the kidnapping.
Hashim Bishr, the head of Tripoli’s Supreme Security Committee, has confirmed that the group that actually seized Zeidan is the Anti-Corruption Bureau of the Operations Room of the Libyan Revolutionaries. It was set up on Abu Sahmain’s personal instructions in July when he ordered the Libya Shield and other militias to move to Tripoli. As such, it officially draws its authority from him – but not in this case.
It claims on its Facebook page that it “arrested” the Prime Minister in cooperation with the Counter Crime Agency because of his alleged complicity in the kidnapping of Nazih Ruqaii, also known as Abu Anas Al-Libi, by the Americans. It also says that an arrest warrant was obtained from “a prosecutor” and that it believes it was acting entirely within the law.
It was earlier reported that the seizure had been ordered by the Attorney General with some Tweets claiming that he had been forced to act in this manner by the Operations Room of the Libyan Revolutionaries. He has, however, since denied giving any such order.
Congress is not supposed to be meeting today, although a number of its committees are due to do so. However, a statement from Congress and/or Abu Sahmain is expected.
Security around Congress has been raised to a higher level and accredited journalists have been told that they will not gain entry to the building. Meanwhile, though there seems little difference on the streets of the capital, it was notable that the technicals and guards that normally surround the prime ministry appear to have been withdrawn entirely. [/restrict]
