CAIRO/TRIPOLI: A spokesman at the Egyptian embassy in Tripoli has said that the seven Egyptian workers being detained in a Libyan prison were released on Tuesday and will be returning to Egypt today. The workers were arrested ten days ago over a brawl with Libyan citizens in the town of Beni Walid, west of Tripoli. According to the embassy official, who preferred to remain anonymous, the fight started when one of the Egyptians hit a Libyan over the head with a log. The Libyans in the area reacted violently, and despite there being 400 Egyptian workers present (not all of whom participated in the scuffle), many of them fled and took refuge in Libyan homes or the local police station. "The authorities did all they could do protect them, the official told Daily News Egypt. "The workers were threatened and then let them into the police station to protect them. Some Libyans even allowed them into their homes. One Egyptian was injured and was sent to hospital to be treated. The event happened ten days ago and since then the seven Egyptians, along with two Libyans, have been held in prison. The official said that the embassy had been working over the last week to secure their release and that an embassy official had traveled to Beni Walid on Monday to settle the matter. He said that the prisoners were being released without a trial. He also confirmed a report that the Egyptians had had their passports confiscated and burned. He said that the embassy had responded by issuing travel documents to the detainees so that they could return to Egypt and that they were planning on flying home today. However, members of the Egyptians' families apparently told Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper that the embassy had stalled on issuing replacement documents. There were also accusations from these family members that the Libyans had forced the prisoners into renouncing their legal rights by threatening their children and families. But the embassy official denied that such abuses had taken place and, when asked why it had taken over a week to send a delegate to petition on behalf of the workers, said the embassy "didn't want to interfere with the Libyan authorities. Over the last week-and-a-half the Egyptian Foreign Ministry and its embassies have come under heavy criticism for their apathy and passivity in defending the rights of Egyptian citizens living abroad. The criticism has come largely in response to the arrest and torture of two Egyptian workers in Kuwait, but there have been similar accusations in response to the arrests in Libya. The Foreign Ministry has been quick to counter these charges. Yesterday, at a forum of Egyptian expatriates, Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif said that "the political leadership is interested in issues of concern to the Egyptian citizens at home and abroad. The detainees' release also coincided with a phone call on Monday between Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit and Libyan Foreign Minister Abdel-Rahman Shalqam. Although there were no confirmations that the call was in response to the detainee issue, the spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry did say that "Aboul Gheit stressed that Egyptians who go to Libya to serve its economy and development and who respect local Libyan laws are treated well.
