Tripoli:
Three British Broadcasting Corporation staff were detained, beaten and subjected to mock executions by pro-regime soldiers in Libya while attempting to reach the western city of Zawiya, the broadcaster said on Wednesday.
The news organisation said the crew, members of a BBC Arabic team, was detained on Monday by Moammar Gaddafi loyalists at a check point south of Zawiya.
Chris Cobb-Smith, a British journalist and part of the crew, said the group was moved between several locations, in some cases alongside civilian captives who had visible injuries from heavy beatings.
The BBC reported that the crew's identity cards were inspected at the first checkpoint, which stated clearly that they were members of the press.
On Tuesday, the crew was driven to a building in Tripoli which they believed was the headquarters of Libya's overseas intelligence service.
The men were told to bow their heads and line along a wall by soldiers.
Feras Killani, another of the crew, said in one location he was forced to his knees while a guard cocked a gun in a mock execution.
"I thought they were going to shoot me," he told the BBC.
Killani said he was accused of being a British spy, abused for his Palestinian heritage and beaten by guards.
Cameraman Goktay Koraltan, who is Turkish, said he feared for the crew's lives.
"I heard those gun noises, they were getting ready, and I thought this is the execution moment," he said.
Killani said four other men being held in one facility told him they had been without food for three days and had been repeatedly tortured.
Others had visible signs of abuse, including broken ribs, he said.
The BBC said the men were held for 21 hours before they were released, and have since left Libya.
The news organisation said the crew, members of a BBC Arabic team, was detained on Monday by Moammar Gaddafi loyalists at a check point south of Zawiya.
Chris Cobb-Smith, a British journalist and part of the crew, said the group was moved between several locations, in some cases alongside civilian captives who had visible injuries from heavy beatings.
The BBC reported that the crew's identity cards were inspected at the first checkpoint, which stated clearly that they were members of the press.
On Tuesday, the crew was driven to a building in Tripoli which they believed was the headquarters of Libya's overseas intelligence service.
The men were told to bow their heads and line along a wall by soldiers.
Feras Killani, another of the crew, said in one location he was forced to his knees while a guard cocked a gun in a mock execution.
"I thought they were going to shoot me," he told the BBC.
Killani said he was accused of being a British spy, abused for his Palestinian heritage and beaten by guards.
Cameraman Goktay Koraltan, who is Turkish, said he feared for the crew's lives.
"I heard those gun noises, they were getting ready, and I thought this is the execution moment," he said.
Killani said four other men being held in one facility told him they had been without food for three days and had been repeatedly tortured.
Others had visible signs of abuse, including broken ribs, he said.
The BBC said the men were held for 21 hours before they were released, and have since left Libya.
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