Libya’s Hannibal Gaddafi to be released by Lebanese authorities
Hannibal Gaddafi, the son of Libya’s late dictator Muammar Gaddafi, is set to be released on bail from Lebanon after spending 10 years in custody without trial, a senior Lebanese official told The National on November 6th.
The official revealed that Hannibal’s $11 million bail – which his lawyers claimed he could not afford – had been reduced to $900,000 and that his travel ban was withdrawn.
A senior Libyan delegation met high-level Lebanese officials in Beirut in early November to secure Hannibal’s release as part of a deal “to build again the diplomatic relations between Lebanon and Libya.”
Judge Zaher Hamadeh subsequently announced the ruling after personally interrogating Hannibal for two-hours, marking the first time he has been questioned since 2017, according to Asharq Al-Awsat on November 7th.
Hannibal is expected to pay the bail and immediately leave Lebanese territory on November 7th. The Lebanese official stated that it is not yet known where Hannibal will travel to.
The Tripoli-based Libyan Government of National Unity (GNU) hailed the decision to release Hannibal as the result of “dedicated diplomatic efforts” and said that it reflects “the spirit of brotherhood and the historic relationship between the Libyan and Lebanese peoples.”
Hannibal fled from Libya in 2011 amid an uprising that ultimately toppled his father’s 42-year rule. He was living in exile in Syria with his wife and children when, in 2015, he was lured to the Syria-Lebanon border under the false pretence of an interview.
It was there where Hannibal was kidnapped by an unknown armed group and taken to Lebanon. Once within Lebanese territory, the government ordered his arrest, according to Anadolu Agency on October 17th.
He has since spent the past decade in custody without trial as part of a wider investigation into the 1978 disappearance of former Amal movement leader and Shi’ite cleric Musa al-Sadr during a visit to Libya, when Hannibal was only two-years-old.
Hannibal has been accused of withholding information on the disappearance. Moreover, the incident frayed diplomatic relations between Lebanon and Libya as the former’s large Shi’ite community continues to hold Muammar Gaddafi responsible for the disappearance.
Pressure has been mounting on the Lebanese authorities to release Hannibal, especially since he went on a hunger strike in 2023 to protest his detention. He was transferred to a hospital in June the same year as his physical condition deteriorated considerably.
In August 2025, Human Rights Watch pushed for Hannibal’s release, alleging that he was arbitrarily detained. They stated that the Lebanese “authorities should provide [Hannibal] Gaddafi with appropriate compensation… and investigate and hold to account those responsible for his ordeal.”
The National, Asharq Al-Awsat, Libya Review, Maghrebi.org, Anadolu Agency, Human Rights Watch
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