Three Azerbaijani citizens, who were imprisoned in Libya, were released Aug. 31, 2017 following long negotiations held by Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry with the relevant structures of Libya, the ministry said, AzerNews reported.
The above-mentioned Azerbaijani citizens, members of crew of the “Kalkanlar 1” vessel owned by a Turkish company, were declared wanted on February 27, 2016 as missing. Subsequently, the missing Azerbaijani citizens contacted the members of their families by phone and said that they had sunk the ship, however they couldn’t provide detailed information.
After the investigation by Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry, it was established that the Azerbaijani citizens were taken hostage by militants of the “Islamic State” (IS) terrorist group in the Libyan city of Sirte.
Due to suspension of Azerbaijan’s diplomatic mission in Libya, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry asked for consular assistance to the Turkish diplomatic mission in Libya. Also, contacts were continued with the embassy of Libya in Azerbaijan.
As a result of the measures taken, the citizens of Azerbaijan were released, and they were brought to the territory under the control of Libyan state authorities.
They were accused of causing serious damage to Libya’s budget due to the illegal export of diesel fuel via the territory of Libya.
