Further Information on UA 67/10 Index: MDE 19/011/2010 Issue date: 15 June 2010

Max Goeldi was released from prison in Libya on Thursday 10 June 2010 and returned to Switzerland on Sunday 13 June.

Prior to his release, Max Goeldi had served a four month prison sentence following his conviction in February of immigration-related charges. Amnesty International believes his detention and conviction were politically motivated and were the result of a diplomatic row between Libya and Switzerland over the July 2008 arrest in Switzerland of the son of the Libyan leader.

Max Goeldi was arrested with another Swiss businessman, Rachid Hamdani, by the Libyan authorities in July 2008. The two men were released on bail and banned from leaving the country. They were then arrested again in September 2009 and detained incommunicado for over 50 days before being released. They were tried in February 2010 while sheltering in the Swiss embassy in Tripoli. Rachid Hamdani was cleared of charges of breaking commercial regulations and was given permission to leave the country on 22 February 2010. Rachid Hamdani had won an appeal against his conviction on immigration charges on 31 January.

Max Goeldi’s family have thanked Amnesty International for the support provided while he was trapped in Libya.

No further action is requested from the UA network. Many thanks to all who sent appeals.
This is the first update of UA 67/10. Further information: http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE19/003/2010/en

Further Information on UA 67/10 Index: MDE 19/011/2010 Issue date: 15 June 2010