A kidnapped member of the Board of Directors of the National Oil Corporation (NOC), Abulgasem Shengheer was released on Sunday, according to the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Oil, Rifaat Al-Abbar.
Al-Abbar affirmed his full support for the NOC, stressing the need for it to distance itself from political strife, and continue its technical work in maintaining the progress and sustainability of oil operations.
In late October, the NOC condemned the “unlawful” arrest of Shengheer, who was stopped at Tripoli’s Mitiga Airport while returning from abroad with his family.
“Shengheer was arrested in an arbitrary and inappropriate manner that does not rise to the level of responsibility in dealing with a public and national figure,” the NOC said in a statement.
“A systematic war is being waged by a coalition of militias, smugglers, corrupt figures, politicians, ideologies and stakeholders, against the NOC in order to blackmail, infiltrate, politicise and redirect it from the neutral position it has maintained over the past years for the benefit all Libyans,” the statement added.
The NOC called on the Presidential Council, the Government of National Unity (GNU) and the Attorney General to take all legal measures and release Shengheer. It also called on the UN, Amnesty International, and human rights organisations to intervene immediately and urgently intervene.
The Corporation noted “its deep concern about such repeated militia actions that follows the policy of arbitrary and unofficial arrest of public figures, which may have serious repercussions on the conduct of operations in the oil sector.”