Tripoli – Libyan authorities have released four members of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, who were arrested in 2016 on charges of trafficking arms to Gaza, according to reports from Libyan media. The four individuals, identified as Marwan Al-Ashqar, his son Baraa, Mouayad Abed, and Nasib Choubeir, were detained in Tripoli in October 2016. Their arrest became public knowledge a few months later after being announced by the Libyan prosecutor’s office.
In February 2019, the four men were sentenced by a Tripoli court to prison terms ranging from 17 to 22 years on charges of arms trafficking and spying, as reported by Libyan media outlets. However, on Friday, news emerged that the individuals had been released at the request of the Libyan prosecutor’s office, following mediation efforts by Turkey.
Although there has been no official confirmation of their release from the government of Tripoli-based Prime Minister Abdelhamid Dbeibah, several Libyan media sources have reported their freedom. It is said that the men were released from the Mitiga detention center in Tripoli and subsequently departed for Turkey before heading to Qatar, which serves as Hamas’s political headquarters.
An image circulating on social media, although unverified, allegedly shows three of the released men aboard what appears to be a private jet.
The timing of their release is noteworthy, given the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The nearly eight-week-long war was sparked by an unprecedented attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7. Israeli authorities claim that approximately 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed in the attack, with around 240 individuals taken hostage. The Hamas government in Gaza, meanwhile, alleges that Israeli retaliatory strikes have resulted in the deaths of over 15,000 people, primarily civilians.
Libya has been mired in chaos since the toppling of dictator Muammar Qaddafi in 2011. The country remains divided between Prime Minister Dbeibah’s United Nations-supported government in the west and a rival administration in the east, led by military strongman Khalifa Haftar. The release of the Hamas members underscores the challenges faced by Libyan authorities in maintaining security and stability in the country.
