Libya Holds Briton as Spy, London Says
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LONDON — Libya has accused a British engineer of spying and kept him in jail for the last two months without formal charges, the Foreign Office said Tuesday.
He was identified as James Abra, a 51-year-old employee of Plessey Radar.
“He is in no danger but we are concerned because he is in jail and there are not any charges,” a Foreign Office spokesman said. “He has been there for two months and that is not an acceptable situation.”
The spokesman added that British diplomats in Tripoli were pursuing the matter and there was no reason for alarm.
Relations between the two countries have been strained since Britain expelled Libyan diplomats in April, 1984, after a policewoman was slain by gunfire coming from the Libyan Embassy during a demonstration in London.
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