Georgian Sailor Released after Three Years in Custody in Libya
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Tuesday, May 8
Georgian sailor Soslan Kakabadze, 57, has been released from prison in Libya after three years in custody.
He arrived to Georgia on Saturday and said that he had to live in “unbearable” conditions in several prisons of Libya.
Kakabadze was detained in August 2015 in the ship sailing under the flag of Togo.
He served as a cook on the ship.
“The crew was detained for shipping of illegal fuel to Italy,” Kakabadze says.
“I was moved in several prisons in the course of the three years. Conditions were unbearable. Finally, with the effort of the Georgian and Hungarian governments a trial took place and I was released,” Kakabadze said.
The Georgian Foreign Ministry representatives welcomed Kakabadze in Georgia, saying that the sailor’s release took a “very hard work.”
"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has conducted an intensive work to free the Georgian citizen, using all legal and diplomatic mechanisms - involving foreign partners and diplomatic corps accredited in Libya.
“The release of Kakabadze was preceded by the visit of Georgian Ambassador Alexandre Nalbandov to Libya and his meetings with the Libyan authorities”, says the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Two other Georgian sailors remain in Libya in custody.
Their trials are scheduled on May 20.
