Interior Minister, Fathi Bashagha

Interior Minister, Fathi Bashagha has stressed that the GNA has sent no official invitation to any journalist to visit Libya, saying "Some parties are fishing in troubled waters to serve specific political agendas."

Bashagha tweeted his remarks, in response to the media campaign that targeted some figures, including Bashagha himself, against the backdrop of the visit conducted by the controversial French figure, Bernard Levy, to Misurata.

"The visit of a journalist without an official invitation from the Libyan government does not have any political significance, and does not represent the GNA, while the public is free to express opinions on any public event," interior minister tweeted.

"Freedom of speech and media, is one of the pillars of the democratic civil state, and the right to object to any visit is guaranteed to all," he added, underscoring that there will be no guardianship on public opinion despite the fact that some parties exploit the events for achieving narrow political ends, as he put it.

The visit of the French Jewish writer, Bernard Levy to Libya yesterday, was met with widespread rejection among the general public and at the official level.

In a statement, President of the High Council of State (HCS), Khaled al-Mashri expressed his "surprise" at Levy's visit to Misurata and called for an investigation into the visit and to ascertain who invited him to come to Libya at this time, especially with Paris' support for Khalifa Haftar.

In the same context, Misurata Municipal Council has denied any links with Levy's visit to the city, underscoring there has been no coordination what so ever with the municipal council in this regard.

"We hold responsible any party or individual that has a connection with the visit of this controversial figure to the municipality, and we consider it a gross violation, and interference in the authority of the local administration," Misurata Municipal Council stated.