By Libya Herald reporter.
Dr Ignazio Scaravilli (Photo: Social media
Tripoli, 10 June 2015:
An Italian doctor, Ignazio Scaravilli, kidnapped last January, has been freed and is in good condition, according to the Italian Foreign Ministry. His freedom is said to have been secured with the assistance of the Tripoli-based “Government of National Salvation”. As of late last night, however, he was still in the Libyan capital.
The Italian edition of the Huffington Post has reported that the 68-year old retired orthopaedic specialist from Catania who had gone to Libya to work as a voluntary surgeon in Tripoli, had been freed a week ago but was being used by the Tripoli regime as a bargain counter to obtain recognition from Italy.
News of Scaravilli’s abduction has been withheld ever since he was seized on 6 January in the hope of negotiating his release. There are no details of who held him or where, although it is alleged that he was taken by Ansar Al-Sharia. It is also reported that he was freed after police raided the place where he was held prisoner and then transferred to the capital – which suggest that it was somewhere in west of the country.