Freed Canadian man says Libyan kidnappers treated him well

A Canadian national who was kidnapped in Libya has said that he feels lucky to be alive, and back home with his family in Montreal.

“Things still aren’t back to normal just yet.” Frank Poccia has told the Canadian Press, according to CBC News.

The 52-year old Canadian engineer was working on a project at Libya’s Ghat airport when he and two Italian men were kidnapped in September by masked gunmen.

The three were driven into the Libyan desert where Poccia says they spent the next seven weeks confined to small rooms.

“We were fairly well treated by their kidnappers, and I suspect they were gang members rather than terrorists.” He added, saying the day of his release may have been the most terrifying of his ordeal.

All three of us thought we were about to die when we were ordered at gunpoint to lay on the ground, Poccia was cited as saying.

But rather than being murdered, the three were driven to the airport and freed.

Poccia says he doesn’t know whether a ransom was paid or what role the Italian and Canadian governments played in securing his release, although he believes Italy took the lead.