Tripoli // An Emirati arrested in Libya’s capital in 2015 on suspicion of espionage has been killed by a member of the intelligence services who was himself shot dead, Tripoli’s state prosecutor said on Wednesday.
Seddiq Es Sour told a news conference that the detained man was arrested in November 2015 and awaiting trial on charges of spying. He said he had links to Dubai’s police force.
“A member of Libyan intelligence killed the Emirati citizen before being gunned down by security forces,” the prosecutor added. He did not say when the killings took place.
Mr Es Sour said the Emirati man “claimed to be a businessman with no ties to Dubai police but intelligence agents found photographs of sensitive sites on his phone, including of the Turkish embassy”.
Police in Dubai have denied links to the unnamed man but said he had served as a sergeant with the force until five years ago.
At the time of his arrest, Tripoli was controlled by an Islamist militia-led coalition which accused Arab states of supporting a rival general based in east Libya.
Libya has been riven by lawlessness and fighting since the 2011 toppling and killing of dictator Muammar Qaddafi, with rival governments and armed forces vying for territory and a share of the country’s vast oil riches.
foreign.desk@thenational.ae
