The Ministry of Justice has said that the release of former Finance Minister Faraj Bumatari does not mean that he is innocent of what he is accused of and that he should go to the Public Prosecutor's Office on the first Sunday of every month.
This statement came in the letter of Bumatari's release on Saturday, and was attached to the statement of the Internal Security Apparatus, in which it confirmed that the Public Prosecution’s release of Bumatari “didn't mean that what the apparatus did was contrary to the law or his innocence,” pointing to the availability of information confirming the minister’s involvement in a previous case of financial corruption.
The apparatus indicated that the Public Prosecution continued to exercise its jurisdiction in the investigation and to act in accordance with the principles of justice, criticizing “the shutdowns of the oil fields,” saying: “They are only ways inherited by some to put pressure on the legal authorities in the state, and in their belief that they have succeeded in that, forgetting the legal consequences that will affect them and those behind them in the future," referring to the closure of the Sharara and El Feel oil fields following Bumatari's detention.
Before he was released on Saturday, Bumatari's arrest upon his arrival at Mitiga airport a few days ago sparked widespread reactions inside Libya, accompanied by threats to close oil fields and cut off water supplies. Meanwhile, Sharara and El Feel oilfields were reopened Sunday after a day of shutdown.
