Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah has pardoned several Libyans held over a suspected plot to assassinate him, in a case that has strained ties with Libya, the state news agency SPA said on Monday. "King Abdullah informed the cabinet of his order to pardon the detained Libyans who were implicated, according to evidence, in the plot to harm the kingdom's stability and security," SPA quoted a cabinet statement as saying.
It did not say how many were included in the pardon. Saudi Arabia is holding 13 suspects in the 2003 plot to assassinate Abdullah when he was crown prince. In March, Riyadh said it was close to concluding its investigation.
Last December, Saudi Arabia recalled its ambassador in Tripoli and expelled the Libyan envoy. Tripoli has denied involvement in any such plot.
Washington has said that Tripoli has yet to answer US concerns about the suspected plot, which Washington said was an obstacle to dropping the North African state from the US list of state sponsors of terrorism and ending related sanctions.
A US court sentenced prominent US Muslim activist Abdurahman al-Amoudi last October to 23 years in jail for illegal financial dealings with Libya and for his role in the plot.