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Two Russians Arrested for ‘Trying to Influence Libyan Election’

Prosecutors say they met with Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the fugitive son of the late dictator and a potential Kremlin-backed election candidate.

Two Russian nationals have been arrested in Libya by government security forces on charges they were trying to influence elections in the troubled country, Bloomberg News reports. The pair, who were not named in the Bloomberg report, were meeting with fugitive Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the fugitive son of the late dictator Muammar Gaddafi and a potential Kremlin-backed election candidate, according to prosecutors’ filings. The suspects worked for a company that “specializes in influencing African state elections,” according to a letter released by the attorney general’s office. Twice the Russians had met Saif, who is wanted by International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity. According to the prosecutors, the Russian nationals also confessed to trying to influence elections in Madagascar. Along with the Russians, three Libyans have been arrested and a third Russian fled the country before security services raided his residence.