The Medavia bosses arrested in Tripoli over allegations they helped the Gaddafi regime during the civil war have been released.

Medavia managing director Abdulrazagh Zmirli and technical general manager Abdalla Dekna had been arrested on December 18.

Mr Zmirli's son Ismael tweeted this afternoon that the case against his father had been dropped and closed due to lack of evidence.

In a statement this afternoon, Medavia confirmed that the two men had been released from detention and expressed its appreciation for the support shown by the people and entities who called the company to ask about the situation and the men's well-being.

"A significant number of calls and messages were received from various people of different nationalities in Malta and overseas sympathising with the gentlemen's unexpected predicament.

"Management would like to thank all those people who have expressed their solidarity and/or contributed in any way towards their release."

The Tripoli government had been 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.

Mr Zmirli, who is also a Maltese citizen, is highly respected within the Libyan community in Malta for having kept Medavia going and retained its employees despite the upheaval in Libya. He was also instrumental in the organisation of Red Cross relief efforts to Libya during the uprising.

The Maltese Government, which has a stake in Medavia, had been monitoring the situation.

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