The Maltese man rescued from armed kidnappers in Libya last week was still being questioned by the Tripoli government yesterday.

Noel Sciberras, the director of a company that runs car parks in Libya, was abducted by a gang in Tajoura and held ransom for 47 days before being rescued by a team of Libyan special forces.

Tripoli government sources told the Times of Malta Mr Sciberras was still being debriefed by the Tripoli police and other officials to help in their investigation.

The sources said Mr Sciberras was safe and was being held in a secure compound. He is expected to return home in the coming days.

“We are concluding investigations with Mr Sciberras before he returns to Malta,” the sources said.

A video of Mr Sciberras’s rescue, recorded by the Radda Al Hassa team, which secured his release, shows the Maltese national locked up in a house outside of Tripoli. Visibly shaken, Mr Sciberras was told to calm down by his rescuers who repeatedly told him: “Don’t worry, we are here to rescue you.”

Mr Sciberras is the second Maltese national to be kidnapped in Libya in recent months, though Tripoli sources said that foreign nationals being picked off the streets by gunmen was a common occurrence.

In July, oil worker Martin Galea was kidnapped and held captive for 11 days. He was eventually released to the Maltese consulate in Tripoli following a tortuous day in which his captors kept changing the drop off location: from Tunisia to the outskirts of Tripoli and, finally, the consular office.

Mr Sciberras’s captors reportedly demanded a €5 million ransom for his release. A Maltese government spokesman would not comment on the matter. However, government sources said no money had been paid in exchange for Mr Sciberras’s freedom.

In a clip recorded after his release, Mr Sciberras says he only had bread and cheese throughout his captivity and his captors only gave him food for 10 days.

“When I was locked in my room I didn’t change clothes for 41 days,” he said, adding that his captors took pictures of him to send to the Maltese government.

In a Facebook message, the Radda Al Hassa group said elearrested the gang, which had split in two, one to carry out the abduction and the other to guard the kidnapped man.

It said the gang had abducted many citizens and foreigners in recent weeks.