General Khouildi Hamidi was arrested at the international airport in Tunis on September 7, and investigated for illegal entry onto Tunisian soil.

Having been prevented from flying out of Tunisia with his relatives, Hamidi's diplomatic passport will now be returned, a source in the judiciary said.

"He is free to stay in Tunisia or to leave the country," the Libyan's lawyer Abdelbasset Bouhouli told AFP.

Hamidi did not deny the charges as he sat thumbing his prayer beads in court earlier, and explained that his life was in danger in Libya. He was surrounded in the courtroom by about 20 police guards.

He had been held in Tunisia at a secret location under police surveillance, according to security officials, and risked up to a year in prison if found guilty.

A former head of military intelligence, Hamidi served on the Revolution

Command Council that Qadhafi created when he seized power in 1969 and was considered one of the ousted leader's closest allies.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011