Hannibal Gaddafi, son of the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, is expected to leave Lebanon soon following a landmark judicial decision that lifted a travel ban and reduced the financial conditions for his release. His French lawyer, Laurent Bayon, confirmed on Thursday that Gaddafi remains in detention for the moment but will depart the country once legal procedures are completed. Bayon stressed that his client “does not wish to return to Libya at this stage”, without revealing his intended destination.
The latest developments come after Lebanon’s investigative judge in the Musa al-Sadr disappearance case agreed to reduce the bail from USD 11 million to 80 billion Lebanese pounds (approximately USD 900,000) and to revoke the travel ban imposed on Gaddafi since 2015. The revised bail conditions allow him to leave Lebanon immediately upon payment, according to the National News Agency.
In a statement, Libya’s Government of National Unity welcomed the decision, describing it as the outcome of sustained diplomatic efforts carried out in a legal and humanitarian framework. The government said the move helps “preserve the dignity of the Libyan citizen and strengthen judicial cooperation between Libya and Lebanon.”
Hannibal Gaddafi was arrested in Beirut in 2015 on charges of withholding information about the 1978 disappearance of Shiite cleric Musa al-Sadr and his companions during an official visit to Libya. Gaddafi was a toddler at the time of the incident, and his defence team has long maintained that he possesses no relevant information.
Despite repeated appeals over the years, Gaddafi remained in solitary confinement without trial. Thursday’s decision marks the closest he has come to release in a decade, although Bayon emphasised that the details of his client’s onward travel will remain confidential for security and legal reasons.
