Libya PM says video shows Ambassador Aitan safe and sound

AMMAN — Libyan Prime Minister-designate Abdullah Al Thinni has said that Libyan authorities were in contact with the kidnappers of Jordanian Ambassador Fawaz Aitan and had proof that he was in good health.

Meanwhile, officials in Amman and Tripoli rejected as baseless statements by a Libyan activist alleging that the Jordanian and Libyan governments had been discussing a deal to transfer Libyan prisoner Mohammad Dersi to his country, even before the abduction of Aitan.

In an interview with the Libya-based Al Naba Satellite Channel late Monday, which was also reported by the official Libyan news agency, LANA, the Libyan premier said that there have been ongoing communications with the kidnappers and Aitan, along with two Tunisian diplomats.

“We saw a video proving they are safe and sound,” he said, stressing that the three men “will be released”, without giving further details on the identity of kidnappers or their demands. 

Reports have said that the armed group that abducted the envoy on April 15 demanded the release of Dersi, who is sentenced to life imprisonment in Jordan for plotting to carry out a bombing attack against Queen Alia International Airport in 2006. 

LANA on Monday reported that Sahar Banoon, head of the Libyan Prisoners Abroad Committee, said that there had been talks between the two countries to transfer Dersi back home even before the abduction of Aitan.

She also added that Jordanian authorities showed interest in the deal in order to release Aitan.

“We have no comment on this,” said Ministry of Foreign Affair’s Spokesperson Sabah Rafie, without giving further details.

Said Lassoued, the Libyan foreign ministry’s spokesperson, also declined to comment on the issue, saying that he had nothing to add to Thinni’s statements. 

Despite the several attempts by The Jordan Times to contact Banoon, she was not available for comment.