TRIPOLI, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) on Saturday called for immediate release of a group of people detained by security forces at a local coffee shop in the eastern city of Benghazi.
"UNSMIL is deeply disturbed by the raid of a Benghazi cafe where women gathered ... and calls for the immediate release of the detainees and protection of women's right to assemble in public spaces," the mission said in a statement.
"This is a dangerous indicator of the degradation of individual freedoms," the statement added.
Eastern Libyan security forces on Thursday stormed a coffee shop in Benghazi, where dozens of women gathered.
The security forces arrested a group of young men who work at the coffee shop, accusing them of "committing acts of indecency."
Libyan bloggers expressed resentment over the arrest, considering it a violation of the right to assemble in public places.
