France’s foreign ministry says four Frenchmen held by Libyan rebel forces on suspicion of spying have been released and are now in Egypt.
The four worked for a private security company and were detained by Libya’s rebel forces at a checkpoint on May 12 in Benghazi, in eastern Libya. A rebel commander at the time accused them of spying. The fifth member of the group had died of wounds he suffered after being shot at the checkpoint.
The foreign ministry statement on Saturday said the four Frenchmen were handed over to French consular officials in Egypt.
A statement from the Libyan rebels’ transitional government last week said the Frenchmen were ordered arrested for alleged “illicit activities that jeopardized the security of free Libya.”
