BEIRUT – Hannibal Gaddafi, the youngest son of slain Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi, was released from a Lebanese prison in capital Beirut on Monday after nearly a decade of detention without trial.
The 47-year-old’s release, secured on a reduced bail of approximately $900,000 paid by a Libyan delegation, marks the end of a saga rooted in unresolved grievances from the 1970s.
Hannibal was abducted in Syria in 2015 by suspected Lebanese militants and handed over to authorities in Beirut. He faced accusations of withholding information about the 1978 disappearance of prominent Lebanese Shiite cleric Imam Moussa al-Sadr and two companions during a visit to Tripoli, despite Hannibal being just two years old at the time.
Lebanese judicial authorities initially set bail at $11 million in mid-October, imposing a travel ban. Following intense diplomatic pressure, including a recent visit by Libyan officials, the amount was slashed to 80 billion Lebanese pounds, and restrictions were lifted.
The Tripoli-based Government of National Unity (GNU) hailed the outcome as a triumph of “dedicated diplomatic efforts,” reflecting “the spirit of brotherhood between the Libyan and Lebanese peoples.”
“The Libyan delegation has successfully paid the bail, securing the release of citizen Hannibal Gaddafi after prolonged unjust detention. This achievement underscores our commitment to justice and the protection of Libyan nationals abroad, fostering stronger ties with brotherly Lebanon,” said the Libya’s Justice Ministry.
The ministry emphasized that Hannibal’s deteriorating health, exacerbated by a 2023 hunger strike, necessitated urgent intervention, with formal repatriation requests dating back to that year.
Of the Gaddafi’s eight biological sons and two adopted daughters, Saif al-Islam, the once-presumed heir and de facto prime minister, remains a polarizing figure. Captured in 2011, he endured years in a Zintan prison before release in 2017 due to health issues. Now 52, he lives under surveillance in Libya, barred from politics but eyeing a 2026 presidential run despite an International Criminal Court warrant for war crimes.
Mohammed Saif al-Islam, 54, the eldest son from Gaddafi’s first marriage, fled to Algeria in 2011 with his mother Safiya Farkash and sister Aisha. Once head of the Olympic Committee, he now resides quietly in Oman, alongside Aisha, 48, the family’s lone daughter and former UN goodwill ambassador. Dubbed the “Claudia Schiffer of the desert,” Aisha, a lawyer by profession, advocates for Palestinian causes from exile but has largely retreated from public life.
Saadi, 52, the footballer who played professionally in Italy, was extradited from Niger in 2014, tried for murder and suppressing the revolt, and released in 2021. He is believed to be in Turkey, evading further scrutiny.
Mutassim Gaddafi, former national security adviser, was captured and executed alongside his father.
Khamis Gaddafi, commander of the elite Khamis Brigade, died in a NATO airstrike near Tarhuna while Saif al-Arab perished in a Tripoli bombing.