Emirati man held on spying charges in Libya found dead

BENGHAZI, Libya – A Libyan spokesman says an Emirati national detained since 2015 on spying charges has been found dead after militiamen stormed the detention centre where he was being held and killed him.

Sadik al-Sour of the public prosecution office told The Associated Press on Thursday that Yousuf Mubarak Welayti was seized by militiamen who raided the Hadaba prison in Tripoli.

Al-Sour says the militiamen took the Emirati man and later killed him, amid a shootout with prison guards who pursued them. He says a militiaman also died in the exchange of gunfire.

Al-Sour says Welayti was due to appear in court end of the month.

Welayti was arrested in 2015 in Tripoli on suspicions of spying. Dubai police said he worked as a police officer but was fired five years ago.

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