Libyan students protest Swiss minaret ban

Hundreds of Libyan students have protested outside the Swiss embassy in Tripoli against a recent referendum on the minaret ban in Switzerland.

Gathering in front of the Swiss Embassy on Monday, the protesters held pictures of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, chanted anti-Swiss slogans and called for a boycott of Swiss goods.

They also called for the respect of religions throughout the world.

Some 200 police in riot gear formed a cordon around the embassy, preventing the protesters from reaching the task force.

The protest comes just days after Gaddafi called for a holy war against the Swiss minaret vote.

Switzerland’s government declined to comment on Gaddafi’s remarks.

Libya’s relations with Switzerland broke down in 2008 when Gaddafi’s son Hannibal was detained in Geneva over his alleged abuse of domestic servants.

Four days after the brief July arrest, two Swiss businessmen Max Goeldi and Rashid Hamdani were charged with visa violations and illegal business activities and were initially sentenced to 16 months in jail.

A Libyan court later overturned Hamdani’s sentence and allowed his departure while reducing Goeldi’s jail term to four months.

Bern believes the businessmen’s arrest to have been a retaliatory move which Tripoli denies.

Libya has also canceled flights to and from Switzerland, cut off oil supplies to the European state and withdrawn billions of dollars from Swiss banks.

Tensions have been ratcheted up another notch by Switzerland’s alleged decision to blacklist 188 high-ranking Libyans, denying them entry permits.