Swiss businessman caught up in Gaddafi row returns home

Feb 24, 2010, 10:40 GMT

Bern - One of two Swiss businessmen detained in Libya since 2008 has been reunited with his family after returning home to Switzerland, the Swiss foreign ministry said Wednesday.

Rachid al-Hamdani was held along with another Swiss businessman, Max Goldi, following a dispute between Swiss and Libyan authorities after police in Geneva questioned Libyan leader Moamer Gaddafi's son, Hannibal, and his wife over a complaint they had abused domestic staff at their hotel.

Al-Hamdani, who has joint Swiss and Tunisian nationality, was allowed to leave Libya on Monday, traveling by land to Tunisia.

Goldi remained in the country to serve four months in prison for a visa infringement.

The pair had been staying in the Swiss embassy until Monday, but left the building after a Libyan ultimatum threatening reprisals if the Swiss did not hand over the pair.

Relations between Switzerland and Libya have soured since July 2008, when the incident with Gaddafi's sun erupted. Soon after, Libya prevented the two Swiss businessmen from leaving the country, and subsequently tried them on visa violations.

Earlier this month, an appeals court overturned al-Hamdani's sentence to 16 months in prison on visa charges, and reduced Goldi's sentence to four months.

Khaled Kaim, secretary general of the Libyan foreign ministry, said Goldi would have the right to appeal his sentence again.

The diplomatic dispute escalated last week when a Libyan official said the country would stop issuing travel visas to nationals of 25 European countries, in reaction to Switzerland's decision to ban more than 180 Libyan officials from its territory.

Since then a number of European Union countries - notably Spain, Germany and Italy - tried and failed to resolve the controversy.