By Libya Herald reporter.
Tunis, 28 January 2016:
Members of the House of Representatives (HoR) say they their abducted colleague, Mohamed Raied, will be . . .[restrict]freed later this evening. He was seized yesterday while heading to Tobruk airport by relatives and friends of two brothers from the town held in Misrata on drugs charges.
Saleh Hashim Obeidi, a Tobruk member of the HoR, told the Libya Herald that he was in touch with the abductors and had been assured that Raied would be freed within hours. “They promised me personally he would be released tonight,” he said.
He had managed to speak three times to Raied who was in good health, he said, adding that the HoR member had his mobile phone with him and spoken to his family to reassure them. Pointing out that the abduction had not been politically motivated nor for a ransom, he nonetheless condemned what he said was a “criminal action”. The behaviour of those who had taken Raied, one of Misrata’s eight members of the HoR, was totally unacceptable, he stressed. Both the HoR and Torbuk were responsible for Raied’s protection.
He added that there had been contacts with Misrata officials who, he said, appreciated the efforts being made to secure Raeid’s freedom.
Earlier there were calls for his immediate release from Misrata municipal Council as well as by UN Special Envoy Martin Kobler and EU Ambassador Nataliya Apostolova.
The president of the HoR, Ageela Salah, has also being involved in the negotiations to free Raied, working with local elders and dignitaries to bring the situation to a peaceful conclusion. [/restrict]
