A U.S. citizen has reportedly been captured in Libya, and detained for alleged Christian evangelizing.

The Libyan media identified as Jeff Wilson, the founder, and head of the consulting firm Libya Business, allegedly worked as a teacher in a private school in the North African country’s capital of Tripoli. Wilson’s „arrest” has been confirmed by Agence France Presse (AFP).

Libya’s Internal Security Agency announced Wednesday that an American was detained for „inciting our children to renounce Islam and convert to Christianity”. The U.S. State Department confirmed to CBN News that it was aware of the reports of a U.S. citizen being detained in Libya by a militia.

The U.S. Department of State and our embassies and consulates abroad have no greater priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens overseas, – a State Department spokesman told CBN News in an email.

„When a U.S. citizen is detained overseas, the Department works to provide all appropriate assistance. The State Department’s Travel Advisory for Libya is Level 4 – Do Not Travel due to crime, terrorism, civil unrest, kidnapping, and armed conflict. For more information please see the Travel Advisory and Country Information Page Libya International Travel Information (state.gov),” the spokesman noted.

„We encourage U.S. citizens traveling overseas to enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP.state.gov) so they can receive important messages about their destination(s) directly, including timely Alerts and updates to Travel Advisories, and to enable the U.S. Embassy to assist in an emergency,” the spokesman continued.

The Libyan Observer, a Libyan news outlet posted a video to its Facebook page, showing the alleged U.S. citizen with his face blurred.  The outlet explains in its post the Internal Security Agency released footage of a U.S. citizen, who was detained in Tripoli for managing a secret missionary group for the propagation of the Christian faith in Libyan Muslim society.

Source: www2.cbn.com