Courts reduce Gaddafi's bail, lift travel ban

BEIRUT — Investigating Judge Zaher Hamadeh at the Beirut Court of Justice decided on Thursday to lift the travel ban on Hannibal Gaddafi and reduce his bail from $11 million to $900,000

The son of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has been detained in Lebanon without trial for 10 years. This decision was confirmed to L'Orient Today by Nassib Shedid, one of Gaddafi's lawyers.

"His release should happen quickly, either Friday or early next week, once the amount is paid," said Shedid, adding that once released, Gaddafi "will leave Lebanon for security reasons, as his life is in danger."

On Oct. 17, the investigating judge set Gaddafi's bail at $11 million, which his lawyers immediately contested.

"The bail is going to be paid very quickly and Hannibal will leave Lebanon very soon," his French lawyer Laurent Bayon told AFP, stating that his destination is "confidential."

He noted that Gaddafi, whose health deteriorated while in prison, is in possession of a Libyan passport. "The fact that the investigating judge decided he does not have to compensate the victims implies that he is innocent in the Sadr case," Bayon said, referring to the disappearance of the popular and well-loved cleric Musa Sadr who disappeared in 1978 during a visit to Libya.

Lebanese authorities accused Gaddafi, who was three years old at the time of Sadr disappearance, of concealing information about the conditions surrounding the Amal Movement founder's disappearance at the hands of Gaddafi's father.

Before it was reduced, the $11 million bail was divided into two parts: $10 million as compensation for the victims and $1 million as a guarantee of appearance, according to the lawyer.

Gaddafi, who had legal troubles in France and Switzerland in the 2000s, had fled to Syria to join his wife, a Lebanese model, before being arrested in Lebanon.

In early November, a Libyan delegation visited Beirut for bilateral discussions, following a previous visit in January 2024.