Libya acquits arrested Ukrainians

Libya's law enforcement agencies have acquitted Ukrainian citizens who were detained during the revolution in this country in August 2011 on suspicion of working for the army of the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, the Segodnya Newspaper reported on Tuesday. "Ten days ago, the Libyan military prosecutor's office completed an inquiry into the activities of 23 arrested Ukrainians and two Russians in this country. The conclusion of the Libyan law enforcement agencies is definite: our citizens were not involved in a military confrontation between Gaddafi and the rebels, and have never worked for the military," human rights activist Stanislav Selivanov told the newspaper, with reference to his sources in Libya. "The prosecutor's office handed the results of the investigation to Chairman of the Transitional National Council of Libya Mustafa Abdul Jalil, who will decide on the fate of the Ukrainian citizens. I hope that all our countrymen will be sent home soon," he added. At the same time Ukrainian diplomats neither confirmed nor denied the human rights official's report. "We will certainly check it," Foreign Ministry's spokesman Oleksandr Dykusarov told the newspaper. The Segodnya newspaper has said that they got in touch with Ukrainians in Libya and they said that they where currently under guard by the rebels, but were already notified that they were acquitted. "However, no one has told us yet when will we be sent back home," the newspaper said, quoting the Ukrainians. As reported, Dykusarov said on March 29 that three Ukrainians were released from detention in Libya and returned home. "Three Ukrainians have indeed returned from Libya recently – namely a woman from Ukraine, who was among those detained in Tripoli, and two other Ukrainian citizens that were detained by Libyans during the active military phase. Ukrainian diplomats strived to free them," the spokesman said. News emerged on September 5, 2011, that more than 20 Ukrainian nationals had been detained in Libya. All claim to be civilian specialists who came to Libya to work in local oil-industry facilities. The Ukrainians were accused of acting as mercenaries for former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.