Three BBC journalists arrested and mistreated in Libya
Three BBC journalists were arrested and mistreated while covering the events in Libya. Among other things, they were subjected to a mock execution.
According to the broadcaster on Thursday, the men were beaten and then released after 21 hours in custody. The three reporters, a Palestinian, a Briton and a Turk, were arrested by Libyan soldiers on Monday at a checkpoint ten kilometers south of the embattled town of Sawija. They were then taken to a barracks where they were mistreated by soldiers of Libyan ruler Muammar al-Gaddafi and members of the secret police.
The British Foreign Office called the treatment of the BBC team abhorrent. The Libyan leadership had invited journalists to the country to see the truth. This had now become blatantly visible. The British Guardian also reported on Thursday that its editorial team had lost contact with its correspondent Ghaith Abdul-Ahad. The journalist from Iraq had been reporting from Libya for the past two weeks. He last reported on Sunday from Al-Sawija, a heavily embattled city in the west of the North African country.
A journalist from Brazil who was arrested by Libyan government troops was released on Thursday. Her colleague Andrei Netto was released from a prison near the capital Tripoli, the Brazilian newspaper Estado reported on its website, according to SDA. Netto is said to be in good health and is currently staying at the Brazilian ambassador's residence in Libya. He will leave the country on Friday, Estado further reported.
