The first court hearing for the five foreigners accused of smuggling Libyan fuel was postponed to the first of April.

The hearing was postponed due to the absence of an interpreter for one of the defendants, according to the Ministry of Justice.

The Ministry clarified that the five defendants are of various nationalities, including a Croatian, a Maltese, an Algerian and two Egyptians.

The Ambassador of Croatia to Egypt attended the session at the Courts Complex in Tripoli on Sunday, as the diplomatic representative of his country in Libya.

The defendants were arrested by Libya Coast Guard aboard the Togo-registered oil tanker Sovereign M.

The tanker, operated by a Maltese company, was allegedly waiting for a shipment of fuel to be smuggled out of Libya when it was boarded.