The British newspaper The Guardian talks with the Libyan government's release of its journalist Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, captured on day 2 in the coastal city of Sabrata, 60 kilometers west of Tripoli. The reporter was arrested along with the envoy of the Brazilian newspaper O Estado de São Paulo, Andrei Netto, and transferred to a prison on the outskirts of Tripoli, but while Netto was released last Thursday, there is no news of the whereabouts of Abdul- Ahad.
The British newspaper says that it is making "intense efforts to persuade the Libyan government" to secure the release of Abdul-Ahad, a 36-year-old Iraqi national, who came into Libya from Tunisia circumventing the tight control that loyal to Muammar Gaddafi try to impose on the foreign press.
The Libyan Foreign Ministry confirmed last week it was holding the journalist, but has not given any details on its location or the reasons for continued detention. The Guardian has been in contact with Libyan officials in Tripoli and London, as well as Arab and international figures to ask for urgent assistance to secure the release of Abdul-Ahad, "said the newspaper in its latest information on the subject, published yesterday, expressing concerns that the reporter "has not had access to a lawyer." A spokeswoman for the newspaper refers to the communication when asked by the reporter.
His fellow prisoner, the Brazilian Netto, has called for the release of Iraqi journalist in an interview with Associated Press on Saturday from Paris, where a correspondent. Netto, who believes he has gotten out of prison for "good relations" between Libya and Brazil, is concerned for the fate of his colleague, and asked on Twitter a campaign for his release.
"It is urgent diplomatic mobilization of Iraq, the United Kingdom and, in my opinion, also from Brazil," tweeted on Saturday, while warning that "the Iraqi diplomatic representation is closed" so that "no one to intercede" by Abdul-Ahad, "could be brought to trial in the next few hours in Tripoli." Abdul-Ahad is a respected reporter who began his career by taking photographs as a freelancer during the war in Iraq.
He had studied architecture at the University of Baghdad, but during the conflict, managed to post photos in newspapers like The New York Times and The Washington Post, after which he began writing for The Guardian newspaper for which he has reported from Somalia, Sudan, Iraq and Afghanistan.
He has been awarded several times for his work. Several international condemnation of international organizations such as Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and Amnesty International have also demanded the immediate release of Abdul-Ahad, who was detained "simply for telling the facts," according to this NGO.
RSF has also condemned the "physical violence and intimidation" suffered by three BBC journalists who were detained by Libyan troops and police for 21 hours last Monday, during which they were punched, kicked and blows were hooded and subjected to mock executions. RSF has also expressed his outrage over the shooting death on Saturday, the cameraman for Al Jazeera Ali Hassan Al Jaber, in an ambush on the outskirts of Benghazi (east).
Gunmen opened fire on their car, killing the cameraman and another passenger. In addition to acts of intimidation, the Gadhafi regime tries to control the information disseminated by the foreign civil war prevented the free movement of journalists in the area under their control, and organizing press tours to areas show their military advances. 
The British newspaper says that it is making "intense efforts to persuade the Libyan government" to secure the release of Abdul-Ahad, a 36-year-old Iraqi national, who came into Libya from Tunisia circumventing the tight control that loyal to Muammar Gaddafi try to impose on the foreign press.
The Libyan Foreign Ministry confirmed last week it was holding the journalist, but has not given any details on its location or the reasons for continued detention. The Guardian has been in contact with Libyan officials in Tripoli and London, as well as Arab and international figures to ask for urgent assistance to secure the release of Abdul-Ahad, "said the newspaper in its latest information on the subject, published yesterday, expressing concerns that the reporter "has not had access to a lawyer." A spokeswoman for the newspaper refers to the communication when asked by the reporter.
His fellow prisoner, the Brazilian Netto, has called for the release of Iraqi journalist in an interview with Associated Press on Saturday from Paris, where a correspondent. Netto, who believes he has gotten out of prison for "good relations" between Libya and Brazil, is concerned for the fate of his colleague, and asked on Twitter a campaign for his release.
"It is urgent diplomatic mobilization of Iraq, the United Kingdom and, in my opinion, also from Brazil," tweeted on Saturday, while warning that "the Iraqi diplomatic representation is closed" so that "no one to intercede" by Abdul-Ahad, "could be brought to trial in the next few hours in Tripoli." Abdul-Ahad is a respected reporter who began his career by taking photographs as a freelancer during the war in Iraq.
He had studied architecture at the University of Baghdad, but during the conflict, managed to post photos in newspapers like The New York Times and The Washington Post, after which he began writing for The Guardian newspaper for which he has reported from Somalia, Sudan, Iraq and Afghanistan.
He has been awarded several times for his work. Several international condemnation of international organizations such as Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and Amnesty International have also demanded the immediate release of Abdul-Ahad, who was detained "simply for telling the facts," according to this NGO.
RSF has also condemned the "physical violence and intimidation" suffered by three BBC journalists who were detained by Libyan troops and police for 21 hours last Monday, during which they were punched, kicked and blows were hooded and subjected to mock executions. RSF has also expressed his outrage over the shooting death on Saturday, the cameraman for Al Jazeera Ali Hassan Al Jaber, in an ambush on the outskirts of Benghazi (east).
Gunmen opened fire on their car, killing the cameraman and another passenger. In addition to acts of intimidation, the Gadhafi regime tries to control the information disseminated by the foreign civil war prevented the free movement of journalists in the area under their control, and organizing press tours to areas show their military advances.
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