Kidnapped Libya Olympic chief released
From the CNN Wire Staff
July 22, 2012 -- Updated 1721 GMT (0121 HKT)
The committee said Ahmad Nabil al-Alam was taken in Tripoli on Sunday (file).
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Ahmad Nabil al-Alam was kidnapped a week earlier in Tripoli, the Libyan Olympic Committee says
- The identity and motive of the kidnappers are unknown
- Al-Alam "greatly contributed" to the fight against the Gadhafi regime, the committee says
(CNN) -- The kidnapped president of the Libyan Olympic Committee was freed Sunday, a week after he was seized, the country's state news agency reported.
It is not clear who kidnapped Ahmad Nabil al-Alam or why.
Security officials are debriefing him to learn more about the identity and motive of his kidnappers, said Hashem Bashar, the head of the interim Supreme Security Committee Branch in the capital Tripoli.
Al-Alam was kidnapped in central Tripoli on July 15, the Libyan Olympic Committee said at the time.
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He was followed by two vehicles and then seized by unidentified gunmen around 4 p.m., the committee said.
Al-Alam is supposed to head the Libyan delegation in London for the Olympic games, which begin on Friday.
On Monday, the committee issued a statement saying the "Libyan sports family" condemns "this heinous crime."
It described al-Alam as a "man who greatly contributed to the" revolution that led to strongman Moammar Gadhafi's ouster last year. Al-Alam "bore arms to defend its principles until Libya was liberated from the tyranny," the statement said.
CNN's Jomana Karadsheh and Saad Abedine contributed to this report.
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