Lebanon’s Al Jadeed TV reported on Saturday that Hannibal Gaddafi, the son of Libya’s later leader Muammar Gaddafi, is being held in an underground cell equipped with necessities and medications.
Al Jadeed TV aired images from inside the cell of Hannibal, detained by Lebanese authorities since 2015.
Hannibal Gaddafi, in statements relayed by the channel, described his dire conditions underground, citing oxygen shortages. “I’m living in humiliation. I’m a political prisoner, and my case is related to a file I know nothing about… Let them take my hair and teeth they talk about and give me my freedom,” he said.
“I’ve spent 9 years in actual detention and 12 years under ruling… The injustice I face is unacceptable to any law or destiny, rejected by all divine religions,” he added.
Concerning the assassination of Musa al-Sadr, Hannibal stated, “My father informed me that Imam Musa al-Sadr left Libya for Rome, and there he disappeared.”
Reports on Hannibal Gaddafi’s conditions have varied in recent months, with some indicating deteriorating health while others suggest favorable circumstances.
In January, social media circulated rumors of Hannibal’s death in Lebanese prisons, which were denied by Lebanon’s Public Prosecutor Ghassan Oueidat.
In remarks to Libya’s Al-Wasat newspaper, Oueidat clarified that “there is no truth to the circulating news in the media and social media claiming the death of Gaddafi’s son, in Lebanese prisons.”
Oueidat added that “these reports are not true and are mere rumours,” emphasizing that Hannibal had a dental appointment two days ago, and is in good health.
Previously, Reem Youssef Aldabri, Hannibal’s lawyer, denied the circulating news of his death, due to a heart attack.
Earlier in January, Human Rights Watch called on the Lebanese authorities to immediately release Hannibal.
Hannibal has been held in pretrial detention, on questionable charges since his arrest in December 2015. According to the rights group, almost 80% of Lebanon’s prison population is in pretrial detention, with some individuals held for several years without charges.
Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces took custody of Hannibal in 2015, accusing him of having a connection to the disappearance of Lebanese Shiite Imam, Moussa Al-Sadr and two companions in Libya in 1978.
Despite Hannibal being only two years old in 1978, and having no senior official position as an adult, he was charged with “withholding information and subsequently interfering in the crime of continued kidnapping” of Sadr.
Hanan Salah, Associate Director at Human Rights Watch, criticized Hannibal’s arbitrary detention, stating that it “makes a mockery of Lebanon’s judicial system.” The organization urged authorities to drop the charges and release him.
Hannibal reportedly went on a hunger strike from June to October 2023, to protest his arbitrary detention and poor conditions. Lebanon’s prison conditions have deteriorated significantly since the economic crisis in 2019.
He was kidnapped in 2015 in Syria and later transferred to Lebanon, where he was tortured and demanded information on Sadr’s disappearance. After being freed from his captors, he was arrested by Lebanese authorities, accused of concealing information about Sadr’s disappearance.
