Amid the wrecked U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, a man examines documents on the day after the Sept. 11 attack that killed Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans.(Photo: Ibrahim Alaguri, AP)
TUNIS, Tunisia -- The only suspect in custody over the attack on
the U.S. consulate in Benghazi has been conditionally released by
Tunisian authorities due to lack of evidence, his lawyer said Tuesday.
The
release of Ali Harzi, a Tunisian, represents a blow to the
investigation of the Sept. 11 attack on the consulate in Libya that
killed the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans. The investigation
in Libya itself has been stalled due to the weak power of the central
government in the face of the powerful militias, some of whom may have
been involved in the attack.
Harzi's lawyer Anwar Oued-Ali said
his client was freed Monday night but has to remain in the greater Tunis
area in case the court needs him.
Harzi had previously been
interrogated by FBI officials in the presence of a Tunisian judge in
December. He was originally detained in Turkey and in October was
extradited to Tunisia, where authorities had said he was "strongly
suspected" of being involved in the attack.
His lawyer had always maintained there was no evidence linking him to the attack.
Associated Press