Libya gets London Olympics tickets

Organizers for London's 2012 Olympics Games say Libya has been given hundreds of tickets to the events.

A spokeswoman for London 2012 says the tickets went to Libya's Olympic Committee — "not an individual" — for distribution to sports organizations and athletes.

She was responding to a report late Tuesday in Britain's Daily Telegraph claiming Muammar Qaddafi's oldest son, Muhammad, received hundreds of passes to the games. Muhammad Qaddafi heads Libya's Olympic committee, and the nation's plans for the games are being overseen by the embattled dictator's family.

Key members of Gadhafi's regime are under travel bans and there is no indication the Libyan leader or his son plan to — or could — personally attend the Olympics. However, Muammar Qaddafi is free to sell the coveted tickets at a 20 percent markup or distribute them among his father's loyal supporters and staff.

The London Olympic organizing committee is obliged to give tickets to any of the International Olympic Committee member states who request them. The Telegraph reports British government officials are also looking into how to ensure Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, who has been accused of widespread violence to hold onto power, would not attend the events.