Unconfirmed reports Jordan will release “convicted terrorist” Mohamad Al Dersi to free kidnapped Jordan’s ambassador to Libya
26-04-2014 01:47 PM
Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - The head of the Committee for the Release Political Prisoners in Jordan, Mohamad Al Hadid told the Arab Daily News on the phone from Amman today that Jordan has secretly released “convicted terrorist” Mohamad Al Dersi it held in a Jordanian prison in exchange of freeing its kidnapped ambassador to Libya Fawaz Al Aytan. Al Hadid added that Al Dersi is now in Libya and the Jordanian ambassador will be released within few hours.
Sabah Al Rafaei , a spokeswoman for the Jordanian foreign ministry, however, declined to confirm the news of the presumed exchange , and told the Arab Daily News that the Jordanian government will release any information on the matter when it think it is appropriate to do so. She also declined to comment on the reports by Al Jazeera news channel that claimed Al Dersi was released by the Jordanian government, urging the news media to be accurate in its reporting.
Al Hadid said that the deal was brokered by Libyan tribal leaders . Al Dersi’s Jordanian attorney, Mousa Al Abdallat told the Arab Daily News that his client was released from the Jordanian prison because when he went to see him yesterday, he was not allowed to do so and was told that his client was not in the prison facility. He told us that he later assumed that his client was released and transported to Libya. The Arab Daily News was unable to confirm the reports of the alleged release of both Al Dersi and ambassador Al Aytan with the Libyan government at the time of writing of this report.
No one claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of ambassador Al Aytan. It was presumed however that it is the work of Al Qaida affiliate in Libya “Ansar Al Shareea” a group that seeks to impose a strict Islamic political and social Ideology in Libya and in the region.
The Arab Daily News had reported earlier of an impending joint secret American-Jordanian operation to attack the Libyan kidnappers and release ambassador Al Aytan. The Libyan government denied that there were any Jordanian or American special forces on its soil after demonstrations broke out in Tripoli based on the reporting by the Arab Daily News.