On Thursday, Lebanese Prosecutor General, Ghassan Oueidat announced that he had officially received a request from his Libyan counterpart, Al-Siddiq Al-Sour to clarify the reasons behind the continued detention of Hannibal Gaddafi in Lebanon.
The Al-Nahar newspaper reported that Oueidat forwarded Libya’s request to the judicial investigator, Judge Zaher Hamadeh, who is currently supervising the case related to the missing Imam, Moussa Al-Sadr. This initiative is a step towards generating a thorough report, which will later be dispatched to the Libyan Attorney General.
The paper further underscored that Hannibal Gaddafi was recently admitted to the Hôtel-Dieu Hospital, due to a hypoglycemic episode. It’s noteworthy that this is his third hospitalization since he began a hunger strike.
Al-Sour previously penned a formal letter to Lebanon’s foremost judicial figures, including the head of the Judicial Council, the lead judge of the Court of Cassation, as well as Judges Oueidat and Hamadeh. In his communique, Al-Sour distinctly pleaded for Hannibal Gaddafi’s release.
Moreover, the Libyan Attorney General’s letter strongly advocated for Hannibal’s extradition to Libya, as per Lebanese criminal law protocols, or alternatively, to grant him departure to a country of refuge. This plea gains weight considering Hannibal’s pressing health concerns, which necessitate specialized attention
The Attorney General’s letter revealed that under Libyan criminal law, Libyan citizens cannot be extradited for committing a felony or misdemeanour abroad. However, Al-Sour maintained that “such legal stipulation does not prevent action being taken domestically against him.”
He also requested the Libyan Public Prosecutor’s Office to detail the events attributed to Libyan officials accused in Case No. 1 of 1980, against whom arrest warrants were issued in absentia. The aim is to allow the Libyan Public Prosecutor’s Office to hear their statements about the case, and inform Lebanese authorities of the results at appropriate times.
Hannibal’s detention has been a contentious issue in Lebanon, with human rights groups calling for his release. The case has also strained relations between Lebanon and Libya. The Libyan government has repeatedly demanded Hannibal’s release, but the Lebanese authorities have refused to hand him over.
