Lebanon may reduce or even cancel the $11 million bail set for the release of Hannibal Gaddafi, the son of late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, according to his lawyer and a Lebanese judicial official.
Hannibal Gaddafi was arrested in Lebanon in 2015 over allegations that he withheld information regarding the 1978 disappearance of Lebanese cleric Moussa al-Sadr during an official visit to Libya. Hannibal Gaddafi, now 49, was only two years old at the time of Sadr’s disappearance.
A Lebanese judicial source told AFP that a Libyan delegation met with judicial officials and President Joseph Aoun earlier this week. The delegation reportedly submitted documents containing findings from Libyan investigations into the al-Sadr case, including interrogation transcripts of former political and security figures from Gaddafi’s regime.
According to the source, Lebanese authorities have shown “notable flexibility” in the case, with the $11 million bail likely to be reduced to the minimum, paving the way for Gaddafi’s release. The same source added that the investigating judge was also open to lifting the travel ban imposed on Gaddafi.
Gaddafi’s lawyer, Laurent Bayon, said the bail “should be significantly reduced or even canceled,” explaining that the sum was divided into two parts: $10 million for the victims and $1 million as a guarantee of appearance. The judge, Bayon said, may decide to retain only the $1 million portion while continuing to seek full cancellation of the “unjustified” bail.
Moussa al-Sadr, the founder of the Amal Movement, disappeared in Libya along with an aide and a journalist. Beirut has long blamed the Gaddafi regime for their disappearance. Lebanese authorities are now reviewing the Libyan file to assess whether the new information could shed light on the cleric’s fate.
