Which are on their way back to Libya.
South African prosecutors dropped charges against 95 Libyan citizens who were arrested last month at what police said was an illegal military training camp in Mpumalanga province.
Police alleged that the men, who entered the country on study visas, were receiving military training at the camp where firearms and ammunition were recovered during a widely publicized police raid.
During their initial court appearances, the defendants said they were receiving field safety training.
There was insufficient evidence to prosecute the men, the country’s National Prosecutor’s Office said.
«The only charge that was brought before the NPA was that of violating the immigration law against the 95 Libyan citizens,» said National Prosecutor’s Office spokesperson Monica Nyuswa.
They were only charged with violating the country’s immigration laws, and their lawyer told reporters after the charges were dropped today that they expected they would be deported back to Libya in the next 48 hours.
The men were now handed over to immigration officials and insisted through their lawyers that they were in South Africa for security training.
“They are very happy that the charges against them have been dropped, it is what we expected. I think that matter (the alleged military training) is still under investigation, as far as we know, we had security training,” said the men’s lawyer, Nico du Plessis.
The Foreign Minister of the Libyan government of Benghazi.
