Parents of detained lawyer suffering

John and Janelle Taylor say they now realise realise it may be some time before their daughter is released from prison in Libya.

Australian Ambassador David Ritchie has met with Ms Taylor and her three International Criminal Court (ICC) colleagues, who were detained last week while interviewing Saif al-Islam Gaddafi.

Mr Ritchie told Ms Taylor's parents he now knows the matter will not be resolved in the short term.

Mr Taylor says they have had a hard time since learning on Sunday their daughter had been detained.

"We've been a little bit fragile because we don't know what's happening," Mr Taylor said.

"Not that ... we haven't been kept informed by the Government authorities, just that no information's coming out of Zintan."

Mr Taylor says they knew their daughter was going to Libya.

But he says Melinda has travelled to many dangerous places in the course of her career under the protection of her diplomatic passport.

"She told us she was going and we said, 'that's a bit of an iffy place, be careful'," he said.

"She said, 'it's all right, we've got full authorisation to go in and see Saif Gaddafi'.

"We expected her to be ok, because she was going under the diplomatic passport of a UN worker so we just trust in the government that they do the right thing.

"She was at Kosovo when they were still bombing, and that was a number of years ago. She'd been to various places that have been a little bit iffy, but I guess it's part of the job," he said.

The ICC team was arrested in Zintan last week, after meeting Saif al Islam, the son of the late deposed leader Moamar Gaddafi.

His captors claim Ms Taylor was trying to smuggle in documents from Saif al Islam's former allies.

Australia's Foreign Minister Bob Carr says Mr Ritchie has told him they are holding up well but they may be there for sometime.

"They're under no duress, they are enjoying airconditioning and television and fridges with fruit and yoghurt," said Mr Carr.

"The sad point is that there is no immediate prospect of release."