Reports of UAE national's arrest for spying in Libya 'false'

Dubai: UAE authorities have rubbished reports that an Emirati has been arrested for spying in Libya.

An Islamist faction has claimed to have detained a UAE national in Tripoli. It was claimed that the man has links to Dubai Police.

Major General Khamis Mattar Al Mazeina, Dubai Police Chief said on Twitter account that the allegations were "false and far away from truth."

"The arrested suspect's relation with the police had ended five years ago when he was dismissed from military service for his involvement in a moral case,” said Muzainah.

Official sources told Gulf News: "The Emirati national who was arrested in Libya is a UAE businessman who had been visiting Libya during the past several years for business purposes and not in an official capacity.

"Therefore, the aim of the arrest is to blackmail the UAE and applying pressure on it. The UAE will not succumb to pressures and blackmail."

The man was detained on November 5 and is being questioned, agency reports from Tripoli said.

Libya has had two administrations since August 2014, when an Islamist-backed militia alliance overran Tripoli, forcing the internationally recognised government to take refuge in Tobruk, in the far east of the country.

With inputs from AFP