The minimum wage is 450 Libyan dinars ($357) a month.

Some visitors beamed as they bought many books for less than 20 Libyan dinars ($15).

Prices of basic goods have been volatile, in line with sharp swings in the value of the Libyan dinar on the parallel market.

A businessman in Benghazi, he added, had put up the reward of two million Libyan dinars for anyone who managed to capture Gadafy.

Libya has lost almost 8 billion Libyan dinars in oil sales due to the port and oilfield protests, Economy Minister Mustafa Abu Fanas told reporters.

Banks have placed limits on withdrawals, with residents in the capital currently restricted to taking out a maximum of 200 Libyan dinars at a time.

Oil revenues fell 30 percent to 20 billion Libyan dinars ($14.6 billion) in 2014, also one-third of their 2010 levels.

Parliamentary spokesman Omar Hmeidan said lawmakers approved the 56.5 billion Libyan dinars ($47 billion) budget submitted by the government in January.

Okoro arrived in Italy last June after paying smugglers 1,500 Libyan dinars ($1,073) for the risky passage in a rubber dinghy.

People wait to collect their 500 Libyan dinars ($400) cash handouts from the government at a bank in Tripoli February 28, 2011.

Before the announcement, the limit was 2,000 Libyan dinars ($1,560) per month, a central bank official said, having been raised from earlier ceilings.

The OPEC producer's parliament has failed to agree on a 2014 budget proposal worth around 60 billion Libyan dinars ($50 billion), according to lawmakers.

He tried to give Sanneh the 2,500 Libyan dinar ($1,800) he had earned with his uncle in construction work, but Sanneh said he refused.

The newspaper, citing what it called informed sources, said the compensation would range between 1,000 ($790) and 2,000 Libyan dinars for each month of imprisonment.