Hannibal Gaddafi Released on $11 Million Bail After Decade-Long Lebanese Detention Over Sadr Case

Hannibal Gaddafi, currently 49 as confirmed by his attorney, was merely 2 years old when Sadr disappeared. (File)

Lebanon:

A Lebanese judge issued an order on Friday for the release of Hannibal Gaddafi, son of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, on $11 million bail after he spent nearly ten years in pre-trial detention, according to a judicial official.

Lebanese authorities took Hannibal Gaddafi into custody in 2015, accusing him of concealing information regarding the 1978 disappearance of Lebanese Shiite cleric Mussa Sadr in Libya.

Gaddafi, who is now 49 according to his legal representative, was approximately two years of age when Sadr went missing.

Following Friday's interrogation, the judge ordered Gaddafi's release "on $11 million bail with a travel prohibition," stated the judicial official who spoke to AFP under condition of anonymity.

Attorney Laurent Bayon told AFP, "Release on bail is completely unacceptable in a case involving arbitrary detention. We will contest the bail decision."

He emphasized that his client "is subject to international sanctions" and lacks the financial means to pay such an amount, questioning: "Where do you expect him to obtain $11 million?"

Sadr, who established the Amal movement (currently allied with Hezbollah), disappeared during an official visit to Libya, along with an assistant and a journalist.

Beirut attributed the disappearances to Muammar Gaddafi, who was overthrown and killed during the 2011 uprising, resulting in strained diplomatic relations between the two nations ever since.

Hannibal Gaddafi, married to Lebanese model Aline Skaf, escaped to Syria following the outbreak of the Libyan uprising.

In December 2015, he was abducted by armed individuals who transported him to Lebanon, where authorities freed him from the kidnappers but subsequently detained him.

He has never faced formal trial proceedings.

Health Concerns

In August, Human Rights Watch called for Lebanon to immediately free Gaddafi, asserting that he was wrongfully imprisoned based on "apparently unsubstantiated claims that he was withholding information" about Sadr.

Last week, attorney Bayon expressed concern about his client's health and requested his release after Gaddafi, who reportedly suffers from severe depression, was hospitalized for abdominal pain.

His wife resides in Lebanon with their two younger children who attend school locally, while their eldest child studies in Europe, according to a source close to the family.

Hannibal and Skaf created a diplomatic incident with Switzerland in 2008 when they were arrested at a luxury Geneva hotel for assaulting two former household employees.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who succeeded Sadr as head of the Amal movement, has accused Libya's current authorities of non-cooperation regarding Sadr's disappearance, an allegation that Libya denies.

Hannibal Gaddafi was also mentioned in the case involving former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who received a five-year prison sentence last month for a scheme in which Muammar Gaddafi funded his 2007 presidential campaign.

French investigations uncovered a possible attempt to corrupt Lebanese judges in early 2021, aiming to secure Hannibal Gaddafi's release and obtain information that would exonerate Sarkozy.

Franco-Lebanese businessman Ziad Takieddine, a key witness in the Sarkozy case, died in Lebanon last month.