Colonel Gaddafi has launched a bizarre diplomatic assault on Switzerland — including closing Swiss businesses, arresting Swiss nationals and throwing diplomats out of Libya — after his son, Hannibal, was arrested for assaulting a member of staff at a Geneva hotel.

The European country's Foreign Ministry claims that Mr Gaddafi has launched a single-minded campaign against Swiss interests in general ever since Hannibal, 32, was detained on July 15.

It says that the Libyan Government was guilty of initiating "retaliatory measures" in place against Switzerland from two days after the arrest. Libya’s envoy in Switzerland has been recalled and Libyan authorities have suspended the issuing of visas to Swiss citizens.

Air links between Switzerland and Libya have been reduced, two Swiss nationals have been placed in police custody since Saturday, Swiss businesses in Libya have received closure orders, and Libya has threatened to cut its oil supplies.

As well as carrying out diplomatic reprisals, Mr Gaddafi appeared today to have organised vocal protests outside the Swiss embassy in Tripoli over what demonstrators, identified as his supporters, claimed was "mistreatment" of his son, a claim Switzerland has denied. Hannibal Gaddafi was released on police bail last week.

In a statement handed to the Swiss ambassador, the protesters described the arrest as an "odious crime" and demanded an apology.

The Swiss Foreign Ministry, however, said that Libya's diplomatic moves were a completely unsuitable response to a standard criminal investigation, and announced that a delegation had been sent to Tripoli today to convey the message.

"A diplomatic delegation left Bern for Tripoli on Wednesday to give explanations to the Libyan authorities," a statement said.

Micheline Calmy-Rey, Switzerland's Foreign Minister, spoke to her Libyan counterpart, Abderrahman Shalgan, by telephone yesterday and made a "firm protest", while stressing that she wished to avoid the issue from worsening, the ministry added.

It is not the first time that Hannibal Gaddafi has had a run-in with police in continental Europe. In 2005 he was investigated in Paris for assault after incidents at two hotels in the city.

He also gained notoriety for driving down the Champs Élysées at 87mph before being stopped by police.

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