Libya issues ultimatum over Swiss detainee

The Switzerland-Libya conflict took another hard turn over the weekend with an ultimatum issued by Libyan authorities for the Swiss embassy to hand over by noon Monday one of two Swiss detainees in the country.

Tripoli wants Max Göldi, head of the ABB engineering company’s Libyan branch, to be released from the embassy, where he has been sheltered, so he can begin serving a four-month jail sentence imposed for visa violations, according to the Jamahiraya News Agency (JANA).

Failure to release Göldi, who was also fined the equivalent of 800 dollars for “illegal economic activities,” would result in retaliatory “measures,” the official Libyan news agency said.

In a rapidly evolving situation, the Reuters news agency reported that several dozen Libyan police had encircled the Swiss embassy by mid-morning on Monday.

The other Swiss hostage, Rachid Hamdani, was cleared of similar charges after an appeal process and has received his passport.

Hamdani, who also sought refuge in the Swiss embassy in Tripoli, was driven away by Libyan officials and was reportedly issued a visa to allow him to travel to neighbouring Tunisia.

Both men have been unable to leave Libya for more than 18 months following the severing of normal bilateral relations between that country and Switzerland.

They became pawns in a dispute that erupted after the high-profile arrest of Hannibal Gaddafi, the son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, and his wife in Geneva in July 2008, following allegations they mistreated domestic employees.

The employees dropped their complaint but Libya responded by arresting Göldi and Hamdani, among a range of other punitive measures, including withdrawing government investments from banks in Switzerland and closing Swiss businesses in the North African country.

Swiss President Doris Leuthard is in Madrid on Monday for continued negotiations with Libyan authorities aimed at ending the impasse, in talks facilitated by the European Union.

This follows meetings over the weekend between Swiss and Libyan negotiators in Berlin, aided by the German government.

The EU was dragged into the dispute last week after Libya decided to withdraw visas to citizens from 25 European member countries of the Schengen Agreement.

The agreement, which involves Switzerland, allows for free movement within much of Europe without passports.

Libya took the measure in response to a blacklist established by the Swiss government for more than 180 high-ranking Libyans, including Colonel Gaddafi, that bans them from receiving visas.

The dispute has elicited angry recriminations against Bern from some European countries, including Italy and France, who maintain their economic relations with the oil-rich African nation have been unfairly disrupted by the dispute.

Leuthard is scheduled to meet on Monday with Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodiguez Zapatero and King Juan Carlos in a bid to end the stalemate.

Spain currently heads the presidency of the EU council of ministers.

Last Thursday, Micheline Calmy-Rey, Swiss minister of foreign affairs, met with her Spanish counterpart Miguel Angel Moratinos and Libyan foreign affairs minister Moussa Koussa to tackle the same issue.

Moratinos said “progress” was made in the talks but said more work was needed.

Last week, government officials from Italy and Malta urged Switzerland to change its visa policy with the Libyans, but Bern has declined to do so.

The Swiss government said the restrictions were imposed in November because of concerns about the treatment of Göldi and Hamdani.

Amnesty International has weighed into the dispute, calling the arrest of the two men “politically motivated.”

The group has charged Libya for violating international human rights laws in its treatment of Göldi and Hamdani, while repeatedly calling for their immediate release.