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Lebanon Frees Hannibal Gaddafi After Nearly a Decade in Detention

The move follows a bail reduction that cleared the way for his departure.

FILE - In this undated file photo made available Sept. 25, 2011, Hannibal Gadhafi, son of ousted Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, watches an elite military unit exercise in Zlitan, Libya. (AP Photo/Abdel Magid al-Fergany, File)
Hannibal Gaddafi, son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, attends the signing agreement ceremony between Libya's Shipping Corporation and STX Europe to build a cruise ship, in Tripoli June 30, 2010.  REUTERS/Ismail Zitouny/File Photo

Overview

  • Lebanon’s National News Agency said Gaddafi was released after his defense lawyers paid roughly $900,000 in bail.
  • Last month a court ordered his release, cut an initial $11 million bail to about $900,000, and lifted a travel ban, according to a judicial source.
  • Gaddafi had been held since 2015 over accusations he withheld information on the 1978 disappearance of Lebanese cleric Musa al-Sadr.
  • Human rights groups criticized the prolonged pre-trial detention, and Gaddafi undertook a hunger strike in 2023 that led to hospitalization.
  • Libya’s Tripoli-based Government of National Unity thanked Lebanese leaders and signaled interest in reviving bilateral ties.