Libya Jails 24 Russia, Ukraine, Belarus Nationals

A Libyan court has convicted a group of Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian nationals of collaborating with Gaddafi forces. A Russian, accused by the Libyan authorities of coordinating the group’s activities, was given a life sentence. The rest of the convicts were sentenced to ten years in prison. Two Russian citizens, two Belarusians and 20 Ukrainians were detained last autumn by Libya’s Transitional National Council (TNC), which accused them of fighting alongside Gaddafi militants. All of the convicts were contract employees at a joint Russian-Libyan oil venture, Dakar. First they were called “snipers who fought on Gaddafi’s side”. However, later it became clear that the “snipers” had no weapons at all and half of them were elderly people unfit for military service.

http://english.ruvr.ru/2012_06_04/76982315/