A Dutch activist formerly detained in Libya desperately wants to the north African country, despite spending over two weeks in prison in Tripoli.

“I want to help the country and I love the people there,” Yvonne Snitjer, 49, said.

The woman, who is currently living in Malta, spent time behind bars after she was accused of filming a riot that took place in Tripoli, Dutch authorities had said.

Ms Snitjer also said she was detained for 17 days while authorities checked her papers.

In May 2017, Ms Snitjer had parked outside a café to make use of the free Wi-Fi, when she was promptly approached by Libyan police.

“Their commander came and he asked me for my passport and the work I was doing. I had recently got my paperwork signed in another city – Misrata – so they needed to confirm the paperwork with authorities there,” she said.

Tripoli and Misrata had been at odds at the time, with fights from the two separate militias taking place a few days before.

After two days in prison, they allowed me to use a computer

“They kept asking ‘who do you know from Misrata, what where you doing there’?” she added.

Eventually, Ms Snitjer was asked to hand over her computer and cell phone and taken to the police station. She was detained by the Rada Special Defence forces – a radical Islamist special operations military police unit formed for the purpose of tackling crime in the current political vacuum.

Security personnel is seen next to the remnants of a vehicle at the scene of a gun attack at Kaam checkpoint in Zliten east of Tripoli.Security personnel is seen next to the remnants of a vehicle at the scene of a gun attack at Kaam checkpoint in Zliten east of Tripoli.

But Ms Snitjer remained calm throughout the ordeal: “I knew I had done nothing wrong and I told myself they would not hurt me.”

She refused their offer to make a call to someone outside of the offices, saying she did not want to panic her friends and family.

However, her good intentions backfired as soon the social media and the newspapers in The Netherlands were full of reports declaring Ms Snitjer missing.

“After two days in prison, they allowed me to use a computer and I saw social media full of reports,” she said.

The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs only intervened six days later and said she had been imprisoned.

Ms Snitjer has recently moved to Malta in the hope of better prospects and to rebuild her life. Her bad luck seemed to have continued however, after she ended up homeless due to the high rents and difficulty with finding a job.

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