On Monday, November 10, 2025, Lebanese authorities released Hannibal Gadhafi, the son of late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, after he paid a reduced bail of $900,000, bringing an end to his decade-long detention.
Gadhafi was accused of withholding information about the disappearance of prominent Lebanese Shiite cleric Moussa al-Sadr, who vanished during a visit to Libya in 1978. His lawyer, Charbel Milad al-Khoury, confirmed the release on Monday, saying Gadhafi was now free to travel anywhere of his choosing, though he declined to reveal his client’s next destination for security reasons.
The release followed Lebanon’s decision to lift Gadhafi’s travel ban and lower his bail from an initial $11 million, after negotiations with a visiting Libyan delegation. The Libyan Justice Ministry confirmed that the delegation paid the bail, and Gadhafi’s defence team subsequently withdrew a case filed in Geneva against Lebanon over his prolonged detention without trial. His imprisonment since 2015 had drawn criticism, particularly as he was less than three years old at the time of al-Sadr’s disappearance.
Gadhafi had been living in exile in Syria before being abducted by Lebanese militants and handed over to the authorities. His release marks a new chapter in the long-standing tension between Lebanon and Libya over the fate of al-Sadr, whose family still believes he might be alive in a Libyan prison. Hannibal Gadhafi, one of Moammar Gadhafi’s eight children, spent much of his life in exile following the fall of his father’s regime in 2011, which ended in th Libyan leader’s death during the uprising that toppled his four-decade rule.
