Four foreign journalists captured in Libya in early April were freed from prison Wednesday, a day after being found guilty for illegally entering the country, dpa reported.
The Tuesday ruling had called for the four journalists -James Foley and Clare Gillis of the United States, Nigel Chandler of Britain and Manu Brabo of Spain - to be incarcerated for one year and to pay a fine of about 164 dollars.
But witnesses Wednesday said the four were seen Wednesday at the Rixos hotel in downtown Tripoli. A government spokesman said they could leave the country as soon as they paid their fines.
The journalists were seized on April 5 after entering Libya across its eastern border. They were charged with illegally entering the country.
A South African national, who freelanced as a photojournalist, has been missing for nearly six weeks in Libya. Additionally, at least four Libyan journalists have gone missing since the uprising began three months ago.
Brabo is a freelancer for the photo service epa and the Spanish news agency Efe. Foley works for the Global Post online magazine. Chandler and Gillis are both freelancers.