Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey says efforts continue to resolve the crisis with Libya and seek the release from prison of a Swiss businessman in Tripoli.
“The government is concerned about the fate of [Max] Göldi. We try to do all we can to get him out. The situation remains difficult,” she told a news conference on Wednesday.
She added that Göldi, who began a four-month prison sentence on Monday for visa irregularities, was being held under acceptable conditions and was in good health.
She also expressed her gratitude towards the European Union for its help in obtaining Libyan permission for another Swiss businessman, Rachid Hamdani, to leave the country after 19 months.
Calmy-Rey said discussions were ongoing and the government would uphold its strategy towards Libya. The government has imposed a visa ban on members of the Libyan regime.
The policy, taken as part of European travel restrictions under the single border agreement, prompted criticism by Schengen member countries.
Justice Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf is expected in Brussels on Thursday for discussions over the Swiss visa ban.
The diplomatic row with Libya was triggered by the temporary arrest of a son of the Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi, in Geneva in 2008 amid allegations that he mistreated his household staff.
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Leuthard to discuss Libya on visit to Spain
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Leuthard’s trip marks the second time in a week that a top Swiss official has travelled to the Spanish capital to talk about Switzerland’s row with the North African nation. Micheline Calmy-Rey, the Swiss foreign minister, met earlier in the week with her Libyan counterpart, Mousa Kousa, in an ongoing attempt to settle differences stemming…
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Businessman Max Göldi handed himself over to the authorities on Monday afternoon and was taken to prison in handcuffs. Rachid Hamdani, the other Swiss national who had been held with Göldi, has received his exit visa. However, he was still in Tripoli on Monday evening. His wife told French-language Swiss radio that she had spoken…
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“He is safe,” his French lawyer, Emmanuel Altit, told the Swiss News Agency on Tuesday morning. Altit disclosed no further information on Hamdani’s whereabouts or his return to Switzerland. Hamdani left the Swiss embassy on Monday afternoon. Fellow businessman Max Göldi left the compound the same afternoon in handcuffs to begin serving a four-month prison…
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On September 1, 1969, a small group of military officers led by then 27-year-old army officer Moammar Gaddafi overthrew Libya’s King Idris’ government. The revolutionary officers abolished the monarchy, and proclaimed the new republic. Gaddafi is to this day, referred to as the “Brother Leader and Guide of the Revolution” in government statements and the…
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If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.