Lebanese judicial authorities have ordered the release of Hannibal Gaddafi, the son of the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, after ten years in detention without trial.
The decision was made on Friday in exchange for bail set at 11 million US dollars, according to a judicial official who spoke to Agence France-Presse.
The official stated that Judge Zaher Hamadeh, the judicial investigator in the case of the disappearance of Imam Musa al-Sadr, approved the release of Hannibal Gaddafi on bail, while also imposing a travel ban.
The decision came as Lebanon’s judiciary held the first court session in Beirut’s Palace of Justice for Hannibal Gaddafi, who faces accusations related to the 1978 disappearance of Imam Musa al-Sadr and his companions, Sheikh Mohammed Yaacoub and journalist Abbas Badreddine, in Tripoli, Libya. The case remains one of the Middle East’s longest-running political mysteries.
Judge Hamadeh confirmed his commitment to continue investigating the case at the request of al-Sadr’s family, who believe Gaddafi possesses key information that could help uncover the fate of the missing cleric and his companions.
Imam Musa al-Sadr, a prominent Shiite leader and founder of the Amal Movement, vanished during an official visit to Libya in 1978. At the time, Hannibal Gaddafi was only three years old, but he is believed to hold valuable information due to his position within the former ruling family.
Hannibal was detained in Beirut in 2015 after being abducted in Syria and handed over to Lebanese authorities. He has since spent a decade in detention without formal trial, as his case became entangled in legal complications and disputes over his cooperation with investigators.
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