Updated | Ministry confirms abduction of Maltese man

Foreign minister George Vella has confirmed a story appearing in The Times that a Maltese man in his 40s was abducted in Libya last week and was being held by rebel militias in the west of the country.

The man, Martin Galea, 40, is a health and safety environment professional, who started in the Armed Forces of Malta as a regimental HSE. He left the military in 2007, working with oil and gas firms in the North Sea and then in Ethiopia, Djibouti and Georgia.

MaltaToday has been told that a private military firm based in Malta is involved in the search of the man.

Parliament will today discuss the situation in Libya in an urgent debate proposed by the Opposition.

It is unclear whether the Office of the Prime Minister was aware of the case before news broke of the abduction.

Galea was said to have been abducted after his driver did not turn up to collect him. Sources said that his partner in Malta failed to receive a daily SMS from Galea, as was his practice.

The government has been aware of the case for an entire week, but the newspaper broke it today.

Galea works for oil and gas company Nageco, and that he has been held by militia rebels since July 17 after being abducted on his way to work in the outskirts of Tripoli.

No contact has yet been established with him.

Parliament is tonight expected to discuss the latest developments in Libya, following a motion by the Nationalist Opposition to hold an urgent debate on the situation.

In a reaction to Galea’s abduction, the Nationalist Party expressed its deep concern, heightened by “the government’s repeated statements that the situation in Libya was not a grievous one”.

“Only last week the Foreign Affairs Minister said there was no need for the evacuation of Maltese from Libya. Today we learn that during that same week a Maltese national was abducted and is still missing,” the PN said.

It reiterated that parliament will be discussing the Libyan crisis as a result of a motion presented by Nationalist MP Carm Mifsud Bonnici.