Russia to pursue attempts to have two Russians released from Libyan prison
MOSCOW. July 5 (Interfax) - The Russian Foreign Ministry will continue working with the Libyan authorities to secure the release of two Russian citizens, convicted by a Libyan military court for rendering assistance to the Muammar Gaddafi regime.
"Our ministry in association with other federal agencies will continue active and consistent work with the Libyan authorities to resolve the situation with the Russian citizens convicted in Libya in order to ensure they return to their homeland as quickly as possible," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said at a briefing in Moscow.
Lukashevich said Russian citizens Alexander Shadrov and Vladimir Dolgov as well as three Belarusians and 19 Ukrainians were transferred to the city of Zintan last week as the situation in Tripoli escalated.
"On July 2, employees of our embassy in Tripoli visited Shadrov and Dolgov in Zintan, which is 160 km from the Libyan capital. The conditions of their confinement at the new site are generally acceptable," Lukashevich said.
The moral and psychological state of the two Russians is satisfactory, Lukashevich said.
Regular visits to Shadrov and Dolgov by Russian consular employees have been agreed on with the prison administration, Lukashevich said.
On August 27, 2011, the Libyan rebel battalion Qaqaa detained citizens of Belarus, Ukraine and Russia. The entire group was accused of restoring military equipment used by the Gaddafi regime "to kill the Libyan people."
On June 4, 2012, a Tripoli military court sentenced 19 Ukrainians, one Russian and three Belarusians to 10 years and one Russian to life for rendering assistance to the Muammar Gaddafi regime.