Abducted Al Jazeera photographers freed in Libya

Tripoli, Aug 24 (IANS/EFE) Two Libyan photographers for Qatari TV channel Al Jazeera were set free on Monday, after they were abducted on Sunday by an armed group in the Libyan city of Salahuddin near Tripoli.

"We were kidnapped on Sunday by a group of three armed men, a few minutes after leaving the channel's headquarters in Tripoli," one of the two photographers told EFE.

According to the freed hostages, the abductors stopped them in their car, and then took them to an unknown location.

"The kidnappers asked us about our role in the channel and how the work of Al Jazeera develops in Libya," the photographer explained, noting that they were beaten when they refused to answer questions.

"We were accused of being secret agents of Qatar," he added.

"The assailants told us that they do not want the presence of Al Jazeera in Libya and demanded we leave the channel because it was, in their opinion, behind the fall of the Libyan regime," the second photographer told EFE.

Abductions and murders have been frequent in Libya since the end of 2011, when the Muammar Gaddafi regime was toppled.

--IANS/EFE

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