Hannibal Gaddafi to be freed from Lebanese prison after bail payment

• Hannibal Gaddafi’s bail has been paid, ending nearly 10 years of pre-trial detention in Lebanon.
• He was charged over withholding information about the 1978 disappearance of Lebanese cleric Musa al-Sadr.
• Bail was initially set at USD 11 million but reduced to USD 900,000 following a defense appeal.
• Gaddafi is expected to leave Lebanon for a confidential destination.

Hannibal Gaddafi, the son of Libya’s late ruler Muammar Gaddafi, is set to be released from a Lebanese prison after his bail was paid on Monday, his lawyer and a judicial official told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

The 49-year-old has spent nearly a decade in pre-trial detention following his arrest in Lebanon over allegations that he withheld information about the 1978 disappearance of Lebanese Shiite cleric Musa al-Sadr in Libya. Hannibal Gaddafi was only two years old at the time of Sadr’s disappearance.

Speaking to AFP, Gaddafi’s French lawyer, Laurent Bayon, said, "The bail was paid this morning. Hannibal Gaddafi will finally be free. It's the end of a nightmare for him that lasted 10 years."

In October, a judge ordered his release with bail set at USD 11 million, which was reduced to USD 900,000 last week following an appeal by his defense team. A Lebanese judicial source confirmed the payment and said the legal team was completing the release procedures.

Bayon added that his client would depart Lebanon for a confidential destination and holds a Libyan passport. He criticized the Lebanese justice system for Gaddafi’s long detention, stating, "If Gaddafi was able to be arbitrarily detained in Lebanon for 10 years, it's because the justice system was not independent." He also noted that the move toward release reflects a restoration of judicial independence under Lebanon’s reformist government formed in January.

Musa al-Sadr, the founder of the Amal movement and an ally of Hezbollah, disappeared during an official visit to Libya along with an aide and a journalist. The disappearances have long strained ties between Lebanon and Libya, with Beirut blaming then-Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi.

Hannibal Gaddafi, married to Lebanese model Aline Skaf, fled to Syria at the start of the 2011 Libyan uprising. He was kidnapped in December 2015 by armed men, taken to Lebanon, released by authorities from his captors, and later detained by Lebanese officials.