LIBYA: OLYMPICS: Efforts to free the abducted head of the Libyan Olympic Committee have been intensified in the hope he can be freed before Libya takes part in the upcoming London Olympic Games

Record ID: 330887

  • Title: LIBYA: OLYMPICS: Efforts to free the abducted head of the Libyan Olympic Committee have been intensified in the hope he can be freed before Libya takes part in the upcoming London Olympic Games
  • Date: 16th July 2012
  • Summary: TRIPOLI, LIBYA; (FILE - MAY 14, 2012) (REUTERS) STREET SCENE OF TRIPOLI
  • Embargoed: 31st July 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Libya
  • Country: Libya
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVA1QQHB67P04T8U7ANI20M4F261
  • Story Text: The Libyan Olympic Committee is hopeful for "good news in the next few hours" over the release of its president after he was taken from his car by gunmen in Tripoli on Sunday, its deputy chief said on Monday (July16).
    Nabil Elalem was with a colleague when two cars carrying men in military-style clothing blocked them off, colleagues said.
    The armed men are said to have told him he was needed and that he had to go with them before speeding away.
    "Until this moment; all talks are contradictory; even the promises that we received are not official to rely on too much, this is what I can say concerning this issue as-yet and perhaps the upcoming few hours we can reach a clear conclusion from some state-security associations," " Noureddin El-Krekshi, deputy chief of the committee, told Reuters on Monday.
    Asked whether the committee knew Elalem's whereabouts or who his captors were, he said there were government bodies who were involved in the matter and they were hopeful.
    Elalem's abduction comes a few days before the planned departure of Libyan representatives at the London Olympic Games, which begin on July 27.
    The team of around 10 athletes is due to compete in judo, swimming, athletics and weight-lifting.
    Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee, said that they had been in contact with the Libyan Olympic Committee and that the Libyans had been offered every possible help.
    "The statement that has been given in the last few hours by Mr. Jacques Rogge, the head of the Olympic Commission, gives a positive sign, but we are not only depending upon this statement, but we are doing out best to settle this problem as soon as possible to keep on our participation and our teams which have been preparing for a long time aiming to take a part in that great competition," Krekshi said.
    Since the end of last year's uprising that toppled Muammar Gaddafi, the interim government has struggled to control a myriad armed groups who refuse to lay down their weapons and often take the law into their own hands and detain people.
    Mustafa El-Huni, deputy chairman of the ruling National Transitional Council, said he hoped Elalem would be freed soon.
    "We hope to settle it as we did settle other similar cases before, we are making continuous communication in order to release the kidnapped person and hopefully we would hear good news about this, today or tomorrow," Huni said.
    One faction of the Libyan army issued a statement condemning the abduction and calling for Elalem's swift release.
    "The High Council of Tripoli Rebels roundly condemns the abduction of Mister Nabil Elalem, the current chief of the Olympic committee. We are against abducting any Libyan people; we are against the oppression, despotism and dictatorship," council member Moussa al-Fakeh said.
    Elalem, a former Libyan judo champion, took charge of Libya's Olympic body after its president Mohammed Gaddafi, one of Gaddafi's sons, fled to Algeria last August.
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