GENEVA, August 15, 2008 (AFP) - Libya has released the mother of the Morrocan servant who has accused Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi's youngest son of abuse, the servant's lawyer told AFP on Friday.

'The mother of my client has been freed and has been able to return to Morocco,' Francois Membrez told AFP.

'On the other hand, we have had no news of the brother of my client for the last 10 days,' he added.

'The last we heard from him, he was in hiding in Libya. We do not know if he is still hiding, if he has been detained or if he managed to escape,' said the lawyer.

According to Membrez, his client could seek a mediation once he knows for certain that his brother is no longer in danger.

The development would be a first step to easing diplomatic tensions between Bern and Tripoli. The relationship between the two countries has been strained since the arrest in mid-July in Geneva of Hannibal Kadhafi and his wife Aline.

The pair was arrested in their hotel after two of their servants -- a Moroccan and a Tunisian -- alleged that they had been abused by the Libyan couple.

Kadhafi and his wife have denied the accusations, and were released after two days of detention, having paid a bail of 500,000 Swiss francs (312,500 euros).

Libya has demanded that Switzerland apologise for the way it had treated the Libyan couple.

The foreign ministry's spokesman Jean-Philippe Jeannerat said that a delegation had to explain to Libyan diplomats that the federal Swiss government could not dictate how an individual canton reacts in any criminal investigation.

Geneva's public prosecutor had also denied there had been any political pressure on his office over its handling of allegations of mistreating servants brought against the son of Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi.

The public prosecutor's office had not been subject to any pressure from either the foreign ministry or the Swiss missions of any international organisation, said Daniel Zappelli.

'The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs had strictly respected the independence of the judiciary,' he said.