Geneva - Two domestic servants employed by Hannibal Gaddafi, youngest son of Libyan leader Moamer Gaddafi, have dropped legal action they brought against their employer and his wife, it was stated Tuesday. Francois Membrez, a lawyer representing the two, said his clients were dropping their legal action alleging Hannibal Gaddafi inflicted physical injury on them and threatened them. The Swiss Foreign Ministry confirmed the action had been dropped.
Libya had insisted on the action being dropped as a condition for its ending retaliatory action against Switzerland, which included stopping oil deliveries.
Hannibal Gaddafi and his pregnant wife, Aline, were arrested on July 15, following complaints they inflicted physical injuries on the two domestic staff members.
Gaddafi spent two nights in a cell and his wife was detained in hospital before they were released on bail of 500,000 Swiss francs (490,000 dollars).
The couple, who left the country after their release, denied harming the two maids from Tunisia and Morocco. Their lawyer said Tuesday the interests of his clients were met, as they had received appropriate compensation.
He added that his clients had also been granted provisional residence permits to stay in Switzerland. He did not say how much money was paid to them, or by whom.
Switzerland had advised its citizens not to visit Libya because of the row, and the foreign ministry voiced concern at what it described as "alarming" retaliatory measures introduced by the Libyan leader in the wake of his son's detention in Geneva.
Other retaliatory measures by Gaddafi's government included detaining Swiss citizens in Libya, demanding the closure of Swiss firms present in the country, recalling diplomats, stopping processing visa requests from Swiss and ordering the airline, Swiss, to reduce its flights to Tripoli from three to one a week.
