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| Freed ICC Staff [Photo:Reuters] |
Four staff members from the International Criminal Court ( ICC) have left Libya on the day they were released after four weeks' detention on suspicion of spying.
They arrived in the Netherlands late on Monday night, the ICC said.
Their release came as ICC president Sang-Hyun Song was visiting Libya.
The team had been accused of spying while visiting Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, son of deposed Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, in the town of Zintan.
Saif al-Islam has been indicted by the ICC for crimes against humanity but Libya has insisted he should be tried by a Libyan court.
The ICC team flew out on an Italian military aircraft following a two-hour drive from the town of Zintan, says the BBC's Rana Jawad, in Tripoli.
They are still scheduled to appear before a court in Tripoli on 23 July for a final ruling on their case, a senior member of the Libyan attorney-general's office told the BBC.
"We expect them to come back for the hearing but if they don't, a ruling will be made in absentia," the source said.
Coded documents
During a news conference in the mountain town of Zintan, west of Tripoli, Mr Song offered an apology to the Libyan authorities for the "difficulties" caused by the mission.
He also thanked the Libyan authorities for their agreement "to release the Court's staff members so that they can be reunited with their families".
Mr Song "expressed his relief that the ICC staff members were well treated during their detention".
The ICC employees had been accused of jeopardising Libya's national security, the BBC's Rana Jawad in Tripoli reports.
