Sea captain detained in Libya returns home

Sea Captain Carmelo Grech is back home with his family after he was detained for more than two weeks in Libya.

Grech returned to Malta last night.

Although details of what led the Libyan authorities to hold the Maltese man are still sketchy, Grech was set to face charges of smuggling but the authorities “had a change of heart”, media houses report.

He had been taken into custody by General Khalifa Haftar’s army along with a Jordanian and two Algerians.

Sources had told MaltaToday that Grech was to face charges of smuggling of weapons although the Libyan authorities have dropped the charges and let him go.

Grech had helped the Libyans in their fight against former dictator Muammar Gaddafi during the Libyan uprising by ferrying medical supplies and doctors across the country.