Hannibal Gaddafi, son of the former Libyan dictator, during a visit to Rome in 2011. (Credit: AFP archives)
Hannibal Gaddafi, one of the sons of former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who has been held without trial in Lebanon since 2015, was taken to the emergency room of a Beirut hospital on Thursday, L’Orient-Le Jour has learned from an informed source.
According to this source, one of his lawyers, who wanted to see him on Thursday morning at his place of detention in the headquarters of the Intelligence Branch located in the building of the General Directorate of the Internal Security Forces (ISF) in Beirut, was denied access. A few hours later, Gaddafi was transferred to the hospital, where his legal team was able to visit him, after authorization from the Public Prosecutor’s Office, for about 10 minutes.
Gaddafi's son is reportedly suffering from stomach pain and must undergo several tests to determine whether he will be admitted to the hospital.
Kidnapped at the Lebanese-Syrian border in 2015 and then arrested by Lebanese police, Gaddafi is being prosecuted for allegedly withholding information on the 1978 disappearance in Libya of Shiite Imam Moussa Sadr, founder of the Amal movement. Hannibal Gaddafi was two years old at the time of the events.
Two weeks ago, Lebanese Justice Minister Adel Nassar said “a request for release has been filed by his lawyer” and is “awaiting a decision” from the investigating judge. In July, Tripoli sharply criticized Beirut's lack of cooperation, accusing Lebanese authorities of “political manipulation” of the case.
For its part, Human Rights Watch (HRW) called at the end of August for the immediate release of Hannibal Gaddafi, denouncing the “unjust” detention. On Aug.12, a researcher from the NGO was able to make an unprecedented visit to his cell.
The detainee described precarious living conditions — a windowless but ventilated underground cell — as well as health problems worsened by malnutrition.
He said he suffered from chronic pain, a broken nose and severe headaches linked to a skull fracture sustained during torture by his captors in 2015.
According to our information, Gaddafi is being held in a four-square-meter basement room.
While he can consult his legal team, including a French lawyer, his family members were banned from entering Lebanon and from any contact with him during the first seven years of his detention. Only in 2022 were they allowed to see him, but according to HRW, visits remain “very limited,” and requests for access are “often denied, delayed, or ignored without justification.”
