A decision is expected in the coming days on the fate of the Medavia bosses arrested in Tripoli over allegations they helped the Gaddafi regime during the civil war, Libyan sources told The Times.

Everyone here knows him and respects him

Sources in Libya said the Tripoli government is in talks with the SSC – an elite unit set up to rein in the country’s unofficial militias – which arrested the two, to have a decision whether they should be released or tried in the coming days.

The same sources said they were expecting a “positive decision”.

The development comes almost two weeks after the managing director of the Malta-based air services company, Abdulrazagh Zmirli, and the firm’s technical general manager Abdalla Dekna were arrested.

Libyans in Malta collecting a petition in support of Mr Zmirli said they had postponed plans for a protest because they too had heard he could be “released” shortly.

One of the petitioners, electrician Elhadi Elwohashi, said he was hopeful there would be “good news” soon.

In a matter of days some 150 signatures were collected in support of Mr Zmirli and sent to Libya with a lawyer.

“There is no way that these allegations about Mr Zmirli can be true. Everyone here knows him and respects him, especially for his role during the war,” Mr Elwohashi said, pointing out that he had delivered night-vision goggles to the rebels in Benghazi paid for by Mr Zmirli. “He actively supported the rebels during the war,” he insisted.

Another petitioner, hotel maintenance worker Gelani el Gamei, originally from Benghazi, said Mr Zmirli had put in his own money to fund and ship over all sorts of supplies to the rebels.

Foreign Affairs Minister Francis Zammit Dimech said the Maltese Government was aware of these “rumours” but said he would rather not comment at this delicate juncture.

He said the Libyan Government had indicated it was considering positively Valletta’s request to gain access to Mr Zmirli, on account of the fact that he has Maltese citizenship.

“Our request is not in any way an attempt to interfere with the judicial process but simply a request, in line with the Vienna convention, to gain access to Mr Zmirli at consular level.”

mmicallef@timesofmalta.com

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