Libya releases four Hamas members held since 2016

Posted On 4 December 2023

Number of times this article was read : 2059

Libyan authorities on Friday released four members of the Palestinian militant group Hamas who were arrested in 2016 on charges including trafficking arms to Gaza, according to Libyan media. The four men — Marwan al-Ashqar, his son Baraa, Mouayad Abed and Nasib Choubeir — were detained in Tripoli in October 2016. Their arrest was made public by the Libyan prosecutor’s office a few months later.

In February 2019, they were sentenced by a Tripoli court to terms ranging from 17 to 22 years in prison, according to Libyan media, on charges of arms trafficking and spying. Their release on Friday was reported by several Libyan media, which said that the men were freed at the request of the Libyan prosecutor’s office following Turkish mediation.

There was no immediate official confirmation of their release, including from the government of Tripoli-based Prime Minister Abdelhamid Dbeibah. Reports said the four men, who were incarcerated in the Mitiga detention centre in Tripoli, left for Turkey then Qatar, which hosts Hamas’s political leadership.

An unverified image, shared on social media, showed three men in what appeared to be a private jet. Their reported release comes against the backdrop of a nearly eight-week-old war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The fighting was triggered by an unprecedented attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7 during which about 1,200 people were killed, mostly civilians, and around 240 taken hostage, according to Israeli authorities. The Hamas government in Gaza says Israeli retaliatory strikes have killed more than 15,000 people, also mostly civilians. Thrown into chaos since the fall of dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011, Libya is split between Dbeibah’s United Nations-supported government in the west and a rival administration in the east backed by military strongman Khalifa Haftar.

AFP
Other Articles in this Week's Issue<< Sahel: Burkina Faso and Niger withdraw from regional anti-terror forceUN rapporteur on human rights pressures Algeria to release jailed activists >>
The North Africa Journal's WhatsApp Group
.

Most Recent Stories from the Region

Algeria Officially Joins ASEAN

Algeria just made a big splash on the global stage, officially joining ASEAN as a partner (What is Asean: An Explainer). The North African nation is essentially hitting the reset button on its foreign policy, shifting its gaze from its usual European and Mediterranean...

Sahel: Russia Replaces Wagner in Mali Under Pressure from Algeria, Touaregs Brace

Sahel: Russia Replaces Wagner in Mali Under Pressure from Algeria, Touaregs Brace

With Wagner stepping aside, the Africa Corps is moving in, bringing structure and legitimacy to Moscow’s support for Bamako. Touareg leaders, fearing a more efficient and state-backed force, have begun testing quiet understandings with jihadist factions like GSIM. It’s not a formal alliance, but a sign of growing desperation in a region where alliances shift quickly and survival often overrides ideology.

Written by The North Africa Journal

The North Africa Journal is a leading English-language publication focused on North Africa. The Journal covers primarily the Maghreb region and expands its general coverage to the Sahel, Egypt, and beyond, when events in those regions affect the broader North Africa geography. The Journal does not have any affiliation with any institution and has been independent since its founding in 1996. Our position is to always bring our best analysis of events affecting the region, and remain as neutral as humanly possible. Our coverage is not limited to one single topic, but ranges from economic and political affairs, to security, defense, social and environmental issues. We rely on our full staff analysts and editors to bring you best-in-class analysis. We also work with sister company MEA Risk LLC, to leverage the presence on the ground of a solid network of contributors and experts. Information on MEA Risk can be found at www.MEA-Risk.com.

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This