Libya releases 37 militant Islamists

TRIPOLI - An ex-Guantanamo detainee and 36 other militant Islamists were released from prison in Libya, according to a charity organisation Tuesday.

The release was announced in the capital by the charity foundation of Seif al-Islam al-Gaddafi, one of the sons of Libyan leader Muammer Gaddafi.

The foundation said the prisoners had corrected their ways through dialogue, and had all sworn off violence.

The ex-US detainee Abu Sufian bin Qumu, a Libyan, was released from Guantanamo in 2007 to Libya. According to the US charges, he was connected to a terrorist organisation in Afghanistan, and then Pakistan, where he was captured in 2001.

Seif al-Islam’s organisation says it has arranged for the release of 705 prisoners who were “converted” from radical militancy. Among the 37 released were leading members of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group.