site.btaTwo Bulgarian Sailors Arrested in Tripoli, Foreign Ministry Seeks Release

104 POLITICS - FOREIGN MINISTRY - SAILORS - LIBYA

Two Bulgarian Sailors
Arrested in Tripoli,
Foreign Ministry Seeks Release

Sofia, January 24 (BTA) - Rakovski Lashev, head of the Foreign
Ministry's Consular Relations Directorate, met with Libyan
Ambassador Yousef Zurgani on January 21 to raise the issue that
Bulgaria still expects the Libyan authorities to provide
official information about two Bulgarian citizens detained in
Tripoli, the Foreign Ministry said. Sofia insists that the two
be released immediately.

The Libyan Ambassador said the Embassy would convey the request
to the Libyan Foreign Ministry.

The Maltese tanker Sunoil with a crew of five, including two
Bulgarians, was arrested in Tripoli on January 3.

The Moldovan-flagged ship was in distress in the Mediterranean
and was towed to Tripoli by an Italian merchant ship.

The crew members were arrested on charges of smuggling oil
products. The Bulgarians are held in a prison near the port of
Tripoli.

The Bulgarian Foreign Ministry was informed about the case on
January 3 by the sailors' families. The Bulgarian Embassy in
Tripoli, which has temporarily relocated to Tunis, sent a note
to the Libyan Embassy in that city asking for assistance in
clearing up the case and for the Bulgarians' release.

On January 17, the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry had a telephone
conversation with the arrested Bulgarians, who said they were
well. The Hungarian Consul in Tripoli visited them later that
day, and representatives of the Italian Embassy visited them on
January 18. Those are the only missions of EU member States left
in Tripoli. It was confirmed that the Bulgarians were in good
in health and were well cared for. LI/DD