BEIRUT, Lebanon — Libya’s judicial authorities have formally requested the release of Hannibal Gaddafi, the son of Libya’s former ruler Muammar Gaddafi, from Lebanese custody due to his rapidly declining health.
Hannibal Gaddafi has been incarcerated in Lebanon since 2015 without formal charges.
His health began to deteriorate notably after he initiated a hunger strike on June 3 to protest his prolonged detention without a trial.
Since starting the hunger strike, Gaddafi has been hospitalized at least twice, surviving primarily on minimal water intake.
Libyan Prosecutor General Al-Sediq al-Sour conveyed the release request earlier this month to Ghassan Oueidat, his Lebanese counterpart.
Two Lebanese judicial officials who spoke anonymously to The Associated Press on Tuesday, August 15, 2023, confirmed this.
Al-Sour’s communication hinted at the potential to shed light on the fate of the missing Lebanese Shia leader, Moussa al-Sadr, who vanished under mysterious circumstances in Libya in 1978.
The letter also queried the reasons behind Gaddafi’s detention, suggesting that he should either be extradited to Libya or permitted to return to Syria.
Before his capture, Gaddafi lived in exile in Syria with his Lebanese spouse, Aline Skaf, and their children.
Recalling the events around his capture, Gaddafi was initially abducted by Lebanese fighters demanding information about al-Sadr’s whereabouts.
The Lebanese police later claimed to have retrieved him from Baalbek, in northeastern Lebanon.
He has been incarcerated in a Beirut jail since then.
Zaher Hamadeh, the al-Sadr case’s investigative judge, has been entrusted to review the Libyan plea.
The mysterious disappearance of al-Sadr in 1978 remains a sensitive issue in Lebanon.
While many in Lebanon believe al-Sadr is deceased, his family hopes he might still be alive in a Libyan jail.
Moussa al-Sadr founded the Amal group, a militia active during Lebanon’s 1975-1990 civil war.
Many of his supporters firmly believe that Muammar Gaddafi orchestrated al-Sadr’s murder over disputes concerning Libyan funding to Lebanese militias.
Libya, however, posits that al-Sadr left Tripoli in 1978, bound for Rome, suggesting his disappearance might be related to internal Shia group conflicts.
Hannibal Gaddafi fled Libya for Algeria following the downfall of his father’s regime in 2011.
He later sought refuge in Syria, where he received political asylum until his unexpected abduction.
Syria condemned Gaddafi’s kidnapping by an “armed gang” and has since called for his repatriation.
