A militia linked to Libya’s interior ministry has said it seized the daughter of former spy chief Abdullah al-Senussi for her own protection.
Anoud Abdullah al-Senussi was taken as she left a Tripoli prison on Monday afternoon after finishing a 10-month sentence for using a forged passport.
A member of her tribe says she is in good condition.
Mr Senussi is in jail for his alleged role in crimes committed during the rule of Muammar Gaddafi.
He is also wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC), which has accused him of responsibility for crimes against humanity during the uprising that ousted Gaddafi in 2011.
A statement released on the official Facebook page of the First Special Reinforcement Unit (FSRU) which seized Ms Senussi says they did so to prevent her being kidnapped by a rival group.
The FSRU comes under the Supreme Security Committee set up by the interior ministry and is partially made up of fighter who took up arms to oust Gaddafi.
The BBC’s Rana Jawad in Tripoli says the government has since found it difficult to dissolve the SSC.
Ms Senussi had spoken to her mother, Abdelgader Ibn Gassim from the same Magarha tribe told the BBC.
“We hope that she will be released in the next day or two. She’s in Tripoli at one of the security forces headquarters.”
On Monday, Justice Minister Salah al-Marghani said heavily armed men opened fire on police escorting Ms Senussi from al-Rayoumi prison before seizing her.