Bishop Says Libyans Questioned Him on Church Role, Apologized for Arrest

Tripoli, Libya —  The leader of Libya’s Roman Catholics, freed after 100 days of detention, said Monday that he was questioned about church activity in this Muslim country and that the U.S. air strike probably delayed his release.

Bishop Giovanni Martinelli, arrested April 10 in Benghazi with four priests and a nun, said he was released Saturday and returned to the Libyan capital the following day. The other clerics were released over the weekend.

Martinelli, born in Libya of Italian parents 44 years ago, spoke guardedly and would not go into detail about the reasons for his arrest or elaborate on his interrogation. He would say only that the Libyans “questioned us about our presence and work as Roman Catholic priests.”

The Libyan government apologized for the arrest and said it had been a mistake, the bishop said in an interview in his office at St. Francis Church.

Martinelli said of his interrogators, “They excused themselves repeatedly and gave us all comforts, even a radio to listen to the news.”

Observers said the release appeared to be part of a government campaign to reassure the foreign community after the April 15 U.S. air attack on Libya. President Reagan ordered the strike in retaliation for what he said was Libyan involvement in a terrorist attack against Americans in West Berlin.