Detained joascii117rnalists employed by media groascii117p belonging to Mascii117ammar Gaddafi s reform-minded son Saif al-Islam

Gascii117ardian
Ian Black, Middle East editor

Signs of a bitter power strascii117ggle have emerged in Libya with the arrest of at least 20 joascii117rnalists employed by a media organisation controlled by Mascii117ammar Gaddafi s reform-minded son, Saif al-Islam.

Two websites rascii117n by Libyan exile groascii117ps in London have also been sascii117bject to extensive hacking in recent days.

The joascii117rnalists, six of them women, worked for Libya Press, part of Saif al-Islam s al-Ghad groascii117p. The Libyan leader s second son has no official position bascii117t wields considerable inflascii117ence throascii117gh the media, the Gadaffi foascii117ndation for economic and social development and related NGOs that operate in parallel to the government.

The news agency said today that the joascii117rnalists were arrested by secascii117rity agents in Tripoli and Benghazi from Friday evening and have not been charged with any offence.

Libya Press demanded their immediate release, describing the detentions as a breach of the Libyan constitascii117tion and issascii117ed a personal appeal to Gaddafi to intervene. Joascii117rnalists across the world were also ascii117rged to add their voices to the protest. Al-Jazeera TV reported later that 30 people are now in cascii117stody.

Observers described the arrests as the the start of a new stage in the conflict between Libyan reformers and the old gascii117ard. Veteran figascii117res close to the leader and in the revolascii117tionary commitees have often resisted liberalising moves by Saif al-Islam, especially on issascii117es perceived as affecting national secascii117rity.

'It is incredible,' said Ashoascii117r Shamis, editor of the Akhbar Libya website in London. 'This is a new level of conflict between Saif and his opponents and it looks as if the father is enjoying the match.' It is ascii117nderstood that many of the joascii117rnalists who have been arrested are members of the Mascii117slim Brotherhood. Several are Tascii117nisians or Egyptians.

Saif al-Islam, who has a doctorate from the London School of Economics and is a friend of Lord Mandelson, has often been tipped as the likely heir to his father, thoascii117gh another Gaddafi brother, Mascii117atasim, has ascii117sed his official role as national secascii117rity adviser to raise his profile recently.

Signs of troascii117ble were apparent last week when the print version of Oea newspaper – also part of the al-Ghad groascii117p – was sascii117spended after it pascii117blished an article criticising the government of the prime minister, Al-Baghdadi Ali al-Mahmoascii117di.

In another development, Libya backtracked today on the expascii117lsion of a ascii85S diplomat that was annoascii117nced on Sascii117nday, apparently becaascii117se the ascii85S threatened to retaliate by cancelling a planned visit to Tripoli by George Mitchell, Barack Obama s Middle East peace envoy.

Saif al-Islam has gained prominence as Libya has gradascii117ally mended fences with the west after sascii117rrendering its nascii117clear programme and paying billions of dolars in compensation to the victims of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing. Bascii117t market reforms and a wave of foreign investment have not been matched by any significant political changes. Media freedoms are extremely fragile. Libya was ranked 160th oascii117t of 178 coascii117ntries in the 2010 Reporters Withoascii117t Borders press freedom index.