A Libyan delegation in Lebanon made progress in talks Monday with judicial officials over the possible release of late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi’s son, who has been jailed without trial in Lebanon for a decade.
The five-member Libyan delegation held talks on the fate of Hannibal Gadhafi with three senior judicial officials, including prosecutor Jamal Hajar, four Lebanese judicial officials told The Associated Press. They spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.
Detained in Lebanon since 2015, Gadhafi is accused of withholding information about the fate of a Lebanese Shiite cleric who disappeared during a trip to Libya in 1978, although the late leader’s son was less than 3 years old at the time.
A Lebanese judge last month ordered Hannibal Gadhafi’s release on $11 million bail, but banned him from traveling outside Lebanon. His lawyers said he doesn’t have enough to pay that amount, and sought permission for him to leave the country.
During the meeting Monday with the Libyan delegation, the Lebanese judicial officials agreed to work toward sharply reducing the bail and lifting the travel ban, the four judicial officials said. The Libyan delegation also handed over a detailed report on an investigation into the missing cleric, Moussa al-Sadr, the officials said.
Libya formally requested Hannibal Gadhafi’s release in 2023, citing his deteriorating health after he went on a hunger strike to protest his detention without trial.
The Washington-based Hostage Aid Worldwide also has been advocating for years for Gadhafi’s release, raising concerns about his prolonged detention without transparent due process. In recent weeks, members of the organization have held discussions with senior Lebanese officials urging Lebanon to abide by international norms and protections against wrongful detention.
A person familiar with Hostage Aid Worldwide’s efforts told the AP that Gadhafi’s bail and travel ban are expected to be lifted, allowing him to leave Lebanon for Qatar, where he is expected to settle. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the plans.
The Libyan delegation later met with President Joseph Aoun and informed him that Tripoli wants to reactivate relations with Beirut and to find solutions for pending matters between the two countries. A statement issued by Aoun’s office said the Lebanese president told the Libyan delegation that all obstacles should be removed in order to restore relations and boost cooperation between Lebanon and Libya.
Gadhafi had been living in exile in Syria with his Lebanese wife, Aline Skaf, and children until he was abducted in 2015 and brought to Lebanon by Lebanese militants who were demanding information about al-Sadr.
Lebanese police later announced they had seized Gadhafi from the northeastern Lebanese city of Baalbek where he was being held, and he has been held ever since in a Beirut jail, where he faced questioning over al-Sadr’s disappearance.
The case has been a long-standing sore point in Lebanon. The cleric’s family believes he may still be alive in a Libyan prison, though most Lebanese presume he is dead. He would be 96 years old.
Al-Sadr, who went missing with companions Abbas Badreddine and Mohammed Yacoub, was the founder of a Shiite political and military group that took part in the long Lebanese civil war that began in 1975, largely pitting Muslims against Christians.
Hostage Aid Worldwide is also working with the Badreddine family in the U.S. in efforts to reach closure in the al-Sadr case.
Moammar Gadhafi was killed by opposition fighters during Libya’s 2011 uprising-turned-civil war, ending his four-decade rule of the North African country.
Hannibal Gadhafi, who was born nearly three years before al-Sadr disappeared, fled along with his mother and several other relatives to Algeria after his father was toppled and Tripoli fell to opposition fighters.
He later moved to Syria where he was given political asylum and stayed there until he was abducted.
Moammar Gadhafi had eight children from two marriages. Most of them had significant roles in his government. His son Muatassim was killed at the same time as Moammar Gadhafi was captured and slain. Two other sons, Seif al-Arab and Khamis, were killed in the uprising.
Seif al-Islam, the one-time heir apparent to his father, has been in Libya since his release from detention there in 2017. Gadhafi’s son Mohammed and daughter Aisha live in Oman. Al-Saadi Gadhafi, a former soccer player, was released from prison in Libya in 2021 after being jailed following repatriation from Niger in 2014, and is believed to be living in Turkey.
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