Lebanese Judge grants former Libyan ruler Moammar Gaddafi’s son $11m bail

A judge in Lebanon has ordered the release on bail of Hannibal Gaddafi, the son of former Libyan ruler Moammar Gaddafi, after nearly a decade of pre-trial detention. Following questioning, the judge ordered Gaddafi’s release on $11 million bail and simultaneously imposed a travel ban, according to a judicial official. Lebanese authorities arrested Gaddafi in 2015, accusing him of withholding information related to the disappearance of Lebanese Shiite cleric Mussa Sadr nearly four decades earlier. Sadr, the founder of the Amal movement, vanished in 1978 during an official visit to Libya, along with an aide and a journalist. Beirut blamed the disappearances on Moammar Gaddafi, who was overthrown and killed in 2011. Gaddafi’s lawyer, Laurent Bayon, immediately stated that the “release on bail is totally unacceptable in a case of arbitrary detention,” and noted they would challenge the ruling. Bayon emphasized that his client “is under international sanctions” and would be unable to pay the sum, asking, “Where do you want him to find $11 million?” Hannibal Gaddafi, who is married to a Lebanese model, had fled to Syria before being kidnapped by armed men in December 2015 and taken to Lebanon, where he was ultimately arrested.In August, Human Rights Watch urged Lebanon to immediately release Gaddafi, stating he had been wrongly imprisoned on “apparently unsubstantiated allegations that he was withholding information” about Sadr.  This month, Bayon had also raised concerns about his client’s health, noting that Gaddafi, who he said suffers from severe depression, had been hospitalized for abdominal pain.Parliament speaker Nabih Berri, who succeeded Sadr at the head of the Amal movement, has accused Libyas new authorities of not cooperating on the issue of Sadrs disappearance, an accusation Libya denies. The post Lebanese Judge grants former Libyan rulerMoammar Gaddafi’s son $11m bail appeared first on Linda Ikeji Blog.