Shabelle Media Network (Mogadishu)
Abdinasir Mohamed Guled
4 July 2008
Some Somali illegal immigrants who were imprisoned in Libya have been released.
The 65 prisoner who were released were among 280 Somali illegal immigrants who were in Libyan jail for the last five months.
The prisoners are said to have been freed after paying 800 dollars per person.
According to Hussein Igal Dhore who among those who paid the money [800 dollars] who was released said that, the money was taken by the Transitional Federal Government [TFG] of Somalia's ambassador to that country Libya.
He added that even though the Libyan government has released the prisoners, the Somali embassy is taking the money from the detainees and as a result those who were unable to pay the 800 dollars are still in custody.
Hussein Igal said after he was released from the prison he was taken to the Somali embassy so that he could pay the money.
"The Libyan government has released us but we are being detained by the ambassador who is asking for 800 dollars per person" He said.
"Those who cannot afford will rot in the prison" he added.
The released, 65 of us, were brought in buses as we have been waiting for two weeks.
"We were brought to the embassy where the money sent by our relatives was acknowledged and we signed the release" Igal said sitting at a backyard ahead of Somalia's embassy in Tripoli.
Many Somali refugees are imprisoned outside the country and complain of Somali embassy officials who further request their detention in prison so that they can be paid.
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