Tripoli, 27 December:
Lawyers defending suspects accused of seizing Tripoli International Airport by force of arms in June made their opening statements to a court in Tripoli today, as investigations into the incident continue.
Five of the accused were released on the condition that they present themselves at the Permanent Military Court in Tripoli every Tuesday, although several more have been kept in custody until the present.
Judges at the hearing also announced that it had issued an arrest warrant for 11 people accused of involvement in the incident who had failed to attend the hearings. Meanwhile, the court postponed further hearings into the case until 16 January.
The suspects have been charged over their alleged roles in the seizure of Tripoli International Airport for a day this summer.
In June, the Libya Herald reported that a militia from Tarhouna seized the airport in protest at the kidnapping of one of their commanders.
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