A Lebanese judge has ordered the release on bail of Hannibal Gaddafi, son of former Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi, following nearly ten years of pre-trial detention.
After questioning, the judge set Hannibal Gaddafi’s bail at $11 million and imposed a travel ban, a judicial official confirmed.
Gaddafi was arrested in Lebanon in 2015 over allegations of withholding information about the disappearance of Lebanese Shiite cleric Musa Sadr, who vanished in 1978 during an official visit to Libya alongside an aide and a journalist. Sadr, founder of the Amal movement, was believed to have been detained or killed under the regime of Moammar Gaddafi, who was toppled and killed in 2011.
Gaddafi’s lawyer, Laurent Bayon, criticized the bail decision, calling it “totally unacceptable in a case of arbitrary detention.” He said they plan to challenge the ruling, pointing out that Hannibal is subject to international sanctions and unable to pay the $11 million bond. “Where do you want him to find $11 million?” Bayon questioned.
Hannibal Gaddafi, who is married to a Lebanese model, had fled to Syria before being kidnapped by armed men in December 2015 and brought to Lebanon, where he was subsequently arrested.
Human Rights Watch called for his immediate release in August, stating that Gaddafi had been detained on “apparently unsubstantiated allegations” related to Musa Sadr.
This month, Bayon also raised concerns about Gaddafi’s health, revealing the former detainee suffers from severe depression and was recently hospitalized for abdominal pain.
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who succeeded Musa Sadr as leader of the Amal movement, has accused Libya’s current authorities of failing to cooperate on the case of Sadr’s disappearance, an allegation that Libya denies.
