ZURICH -- A Libyan court sentenced two Swiss businessmen to 16 months in prison for violation of residency laws, just two days after a vote in Switzerland to ban the construction of minarets sparked criticism in the Muslim world.

In addition to the prison sentence, the court fined the pair 2,000 dinars ($1,600) each. The men -- Max Goeldi, the country head in Libya for a Swiss engineering group, and Rachid Hamdani -- have been detained in the country since July 2008, when Geneva police arrested Moammar Gadhafi's son Hannibal...