Libya's Attorney General, Al-Sidik Al-Sour, has intervened in the case of Hannibal, the son of the late President Muammar Gaddafi, who is detained in Lebanon. He offered legal assistance regarding the disappearance of Imam Musa Sadr, the founder of the Supreme Shiite Islamic Council, and two of his companions during their visit to Libya in August 1978.
The Attorney General sent a lengthy memo to the President of the Higher Judicial Council, the President of the Court of Cassation, the Public Prosecutor of the Republic of Lebanon, and the investigating judge, Judge Zahir Hamada, requesting international cooperation and mutual legal assistance. The leaked memo, bearing the Attorney General's seal and signature, outlines the case details since Hannibal was kidnapped on December 6, 2015, in Syrian territory, his transfer to Lebanon, and his subsequent handover to the Internal Security Forces Information Branch in Lebanon that same month.
Two months after Hannibal's detention, according to the Libyan Attorney General's memo, Judge Zahir Hamada began taking testimony from him regarding the disappearance of Imam Sadr and the two sheikhs, Mohammed Yaqoub and Abbas Badreddin. This was followed by the issuance of an arrest warrant based on Hannibal's alleged crime of withholding information.
The Libyan Attorney General urged Lebanese judicial authorities to release Hannibal due to his "deteriorating health condition, which requires special care," and to adopt mechanisms for his handover to Libya following the procedures established in Lebanese criminal legislation, or to enable him to leave for a country of asylum.
In the memo, Al-Sour stated, "While we acknowledge the challenge posed by the investigation into the disappearance of Imam Sadr and his companions, we believe this challenge can be overcome through fair and structured judicial cooperation between the prosecution authorities in our two countries." He called for the Lebanese Public Prosecution to send a request for legal assistance to the Libyan Public Prosecution, detailing the procedures that would contribute to clarifying the truth of Imam Sadr and his companions' disappearance.
The Attorney General also requested that the Libyan Public Prosecution be authorized to take Hannibal’s testimony, discuss the information he provided, and clarify what he withheld, with results to be communicated to the Lebanese authorities upon completion of the procedure. Al-Sour noted that "Libyan procedural laws prohibit handing over a Libyan accused of a felony or misdemeanor abroad," clarifying that this legal provision does not prevent local procedures from being taken against him.
Moreover, Al-Sour mentioned that the investigating judge issued 10 absent arrest warrants against Libyans who were implicated in the case No. 1 of 1980 for their involvement in the kidnapping, in addition to the investigative procedures indicating that the investigating judge concluded Hannibal was aware of the circumstances surrounding Imam Sadr and his companions' disappearance but deliberately concealed them from the judiciary.
Al-Sour continued, explaining that "the attribution of the act of withholding information to Hannibal is based on a presumption rooted in his relationship with his father, Muammar Gaddafi, and his closeness to decision-makers in the Libyan state." However, he pointed to Article 410 of the Lebanese Penal Code, which stipulates that "the witness Hannibal Gaddafi is legally exempt from punishment in case of withholding any information, due to the connection of the procedures to his father, being a first-degree relative." Article 408 also indicates that "the duration of Hannibal’s detention has exceeded the maximum penalty period if convicted of withholding information."
Last week, Lebanese judge Hassan Al-Shami, the rapporteur of the official follow-up committee on Sadr's disappearance, mentioned previous confessions attributed to Hannibal, again stating in televised remarks that "he provided information in dozens of pages about the concealment of Sadr, including his secret location in the city of Janzour between 1978 and 1982, and the involvement of former Libyan Prime Minister Abd al-Salam Jalloud and Libyan officer Muhammad Ali Al-Raheibi in this crime." However, several of Hannibal's defenders rejected this narrative, claiming that the son of Gaddafi "was subjected to torture."
Hannibal has been on a hunger strike since the beginning of June last year in protest against being imprisoned without trial since 2015, which resulted in his transfer to a hospital in Lebanon after his health deteriorated.
