Spanish reporter freed by Gaddafi regime

Spanish photojournalist Manuel Varela de Seijas, known professionally as Manu Brabo, was freed yesterday by Libyan authorities after six weeks in detention for allegedly having entered the war-stricken country illegally.

Brabo and three colleagues, two Americans and a South African, were charged and sentenced to a year in prison in a largely show trial. Brabo was expected to spend Tuesday night at the residence of the Spanish ambassador before being taken early on Wednesday to the border with Tunisia, from where the Spanish consul will accompany him back to Madrid.

Brabo's American companions, James Foley and Claire Morgana Gillis, will also be repatriated. "They should go home today or tomorrow at the latest," said Muammar Gaddafi's spokesman, Moussa Ibrahim.