Libyan authorities say prominent journalist arrested

A prominent Libyan journalist was detained by an intelligence body that’s loosely allied with the U.N.-backed government, authorities said Monday.

Intelligence agents arrested Reda Fhelboom at the airport outside the capital Tripoli after he arrived Saturday from neighboring Tunisia, according to the interior ministry of the Tripoli-based administration.

Fhelboom is the founder of The Libyan Organization for Independent Media, which works to document rights violations against Libyan journalists, as well as to advocate for independent news media and to combat incitement of violence online.

Fhelboom’s disappearance sparked sharp condemnation from an array of rights organizations. A statement Monday from Libya’s National Human Rights Committee said those behind his detention should be swiftly “brought to justice.”

The U.N. Support Mission in Libya called for his release and expressed concern that Fhelboom’s “arrest and detention may be on account of his work as a human rights defender and journalist,” in violation of international law.