The Lebanese judiciary releases Hannibal Gaddafi in exchange for a huge financial bail

The Lebanese judiciary decided, on Friday, to release Hannibal Gaddafi, son of the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, in exchange for a huge bail amounting to $11 million, according to a Sky News Arabia correspondent.

Gaddafi Jr. was detained in Lebanon for 10 years, during which he was not subjected to trial.

Gaddafi appeared on Friday before the judicial investigator, Judge Zaher Hamada, as part of his follow-up on the case of the disappearance of the Lebanese cleric Musa al-Sadr and his two companions during their visit to Libya in 1978.

Gaddafi’s son said that he is “a victim of injustice” and that he is “accused of a crime he did not commit,” as he was only two years old at the time of Al-Sadr’s disappearance.

Lebanese factions have always held the government of Gaddafi, who was overthrown in 2011, responsible for Al-Sadr’s disappearance, saying that Libya had kidnapped him during the trip.

Hannibal Gaddafi fled Libya in 2011 after protests erupted against his father’s rule, eventually arriving in Syria, from which his lawyer says he was kidnapped to Lebanon in 2015.

Hannibal’s French lawyer, Laurent Bayonne, explained to Agence France-Presse, “Conditional release on bail is absolutely unacceptable in a case of arbitrary detention like this. We will appeal the bail.”

The lawyer indicated that his client is “subject to international sanctions” and cannot secure this amount.