"As we have already said, the Russian Foreign Ministry and our embassy in Libya, temporarily headquartered in Tunisia over security concerns, have taken, in contact with authorities in Tripoli, necessary steps to figure out the circumstances of and the reasons for two Russian nationals' detention in Libya, as well as the essence of charges that they face", the Russian Foreign Ministry said. "We are discussing measures for providing them with necessary consular assistance", the ministry added.
The head of the Russian Foundation for the Protection of National Values, Alexander Malkevich, said on Tuesday that two employees of the foundation had been charged with meddling in elections in Libya, adding that they were staying in a prison in the suburbs of Tripoli. According to Malkevich, as members of a research group, they were engaged exclusively in conducting sociological surveys and studying humanitarian, cultural and political situation in the country. Malkevich added that the two employees were detained in May, although information on their arrest appeared only last week.