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Businessmen attend Libyan appeal hearings

Swiss citizens appealing against a 16-month prison sentence in Libya have appeared before a Tripoli court.

Max Göldi and Rachid Hamdani went before the court on Saturday and Sunday respectively, before returning to the Swiss embassy.

The judge announced he would issue a verdict on Göldi’s appeal in March. A date has not been given in Hamdani’s case.

The pair were convicted of visa violations and carrying out illegal business activities last November. Both appealed against the ruling.

They were arrested amid a diplomatic spat between Switzerland and Libya following the arrest of one of Libyan leader Moammar Gadaffi’s sons in a Geneva hotel in July 2008.

They were released later that month and sought refuge in the Swiss embassy. The last time they left the compound, in mid-September for medical tests, they were taken by authorities to an undisclosed location in Tripoli – something Bern called a “kidnapping”.

swissinfo.ch and agencies

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