A Lebanese judge has ordered the conditional release of Hannibal Gadhafi — son of the late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi — nearly a decade after he was imprisoned in Beirut without charge. The ruling, issued Friday, stipulates that Gadhafi be freed upon payment of an $11 million bail — a sum his legal team has described as “impossible” and plans to appeal.
The decision marks a dramatic development in a case that has long drawn criticism from human rights groups and legal observers, who have argued that Gadhafi’s prolonged detention violates both Lebanese law and international legal norms.
Judge Zaher Hamadeh, who presided over the hearing at Beirut’s Justice Palace, also imposed a two-month travel ban on Gadhafi as a condition of his release. Judicial officials confirmed that Gadhafi, 49, was questioned by Hamadeh before being returned to his cell at the Internal Security Forces headquarters in Beirut.
Gadhafi’s imprisonment dates back to 2015, when he was abducted by Lebanese militants in Baalbek and later taken into custody by state security forces. The incident was linked to Lebanon’s unresolved decades-old case involving the 1978 disappearance of prominent Shiite cleric Moussa al-Sadr during a visit to Libya.
At the time, Gadhafi had been living in Syria under political asylum with his Lebanese-born wife, Aline Skaf, and their children. He was reportedly brought to Lebanon under duress by non-state actors, a move critics say constituted an extrajudicial rendition. Despite multiple interrogations over the years, Gadhafi has never been formally charged.
Speaking after Friday’s ruling, one of Gadhafi’s lawyers, Charbel Milad al-Khoury, said his client lacks the financial means to pay the imposed bail and will be lodging an appeal on Monday.
“This decision is almost impossible to be met,” said al-Khoury. “Hannibal has been held for 10 years and it is not logical to release him for $11 million bail.”
He also claimed Gadhafi has no access to funds or accounts, a situation complicated by international sanctions placed on the Gadhafi family following the 2011 collapse of Moammar Gadhafi’s regime.
Lebanese judicial sources, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with legal protocol, said the bail was set with consideration to the political sensitivities surrounding the case. The disappearance of Moussa al-Sadr remains one of Lebanon’s most emotionally charged unresolved cases. Al-Sadr, a revered Shiite figure and founder of the Amal Movement, vanished in Libya under mysterious circumstances. He was last seen in Tripoli during an official visit at the invitation of Moammar Gadhafi.
Despite widespread belief that al-Sadr is dead, his family maintains he may still be alive in a Libyan prison. If alive, he would be 96 years old.
Asked during Friday’s hearing whether he had any knowledge of the cleric’s fate, Hannibal Gadhafi reportedly responded: “I don’t know” and “I don’t remember,” according to four judicial officials present.
Born in 1975, three years before the cleric’s disappearance, Gadhafi was not believed to have held any political role at the time. Nonetheless, his continued detention has been justified by Lebanese authorities as necessary for investigative purposes, a rationale human rights advocates have challenged repeatedly.
In 2023, the Libyan government formally requested Gadhafi’s release, citing humanitarian concerns after he went on a hunger strike to protest his detention without trial. At the time, Gadhafi’s health was reportedly deteriorating, and his condition has since remained fragile, according to his legal team.
Lebanon’s judiciary has come under increasing scrutiny for holding Gadhafi without charge for so long. In response, his lawyers have filed a case with the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, accusing the Lebanese state of unlawful detention and mistreatment. That case is expected to be reviewed next month in Switzerland.
“This is no longer about one man — this is about the credibility of Lebanon’s judiciary and its adherence to international human rights obligations,” al-Khoury told TimeAfrica.
The broader Gadhafi family has seen its members scattered or killed since Libya’s 2011 uprising turned civil war. Moammar Gadhafi was killed by opposition fighters in October that year after four decades in power. His son Muatassim died alongside him, while two others — Khamis and Seif al-Arab — were also killed during the uprising.
Seif al-Islam, once widely seen as Moammar Gadhafi’s political heir, remains in Libya after being released from detention in 2017 and has made several failed political comebacks. Other siblings have sought refuge across the Middle East: Mohammed and Aisha Gadhafi live in Oman, while former footballer Al-Saadi Gadhafi, who was extradited from Niger in 2014 and later acquitted of murder charges, is believed to reside in Turkey.
Hannibal Gadhafi, who has no known political ambitions or official legacy, has lived in the shadow of his family’s downfall. His decade-long detention without formal charge has drawn comparisons to hostage-taking, especially given its roots in a politically sensitive Lebanese issue.
Some Lebanese legal experts have questioned whether the $11 million bail serves as a de facto price for political closure rather than a judicial guarantee.
“This is not how justice is supposed to work,” said one former Lebanese judge, who asked not to be named. “You can’t make up for 10 years of unlawful detention by simply attaching a price tag to freedom.”
As of Saturday morning, Gadhafi remains in custody. His legal team has vowed to continue pushing for an unconditional release, and hearings are expected to continue into next week.
Meanwhile, questions continue to swirl over whether the Lebanese judiciary can insulate itself from political interference in a case that, for many, has long ceased to be about Hannibal Gadhafi alone.
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