CAIRO: Libya has released 52 Egyptian fishermen arrested last week for straying into Libyan waters, announced an Egyptian official. Mohammed Abdel Hakam, Egypt's Deputy Foreign Minister for Consular Affairs, said the fishermen were released without trial, reported MENA, Egypt's state-run news agency. The men are to leave Benghazi, 1,000 kilometeres east of Tripoli, on Sunday with their boats, which were impounded by Libyan officials when the men were taken into custody on January 9, Hakam said. The fishermen were detained last Sunday for “illegal entry and fishing in Libyan territorial waters,” according to a statement from Hakam last week. Hakam urged fishermen to respect international laws and the territorial waters of other countries. Egypt's consul in Benghazi had visited the detained fishermen, and Cairo made diplomatic contact with Libyan authorities to secure the release of the fishermen and spare them a trial, according to Hakam. BM