Son of late Libyan ruler Moammar al-Gaddafi, Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi, denied all allegations that he had entered an agreement for the release of his brother, Hannibal, who has been jailed in Lebanon for six years.
Khaled al-Zaidi, the lawyer of Saif al-Islam, denied allegations of the deal that was reported by the French Pan-African news site Jeune Afrique. Khaled al-Zaidi stressed that the report was baseless.
The report quoted Suha al-Badri, an alleged aide to Saif al-Islam, stating that Hannibal’s release was imminent after a bail of $150.000 was paid to Lebanese authorities.
“No understanding or deal has been reached to release the abducted Libyan national, Hannibal al-Gaddafi,” the lawyer said to the Libyan press, adding that Badri was not at the aide of the Saif al-Islam’s team, as claimed in the French report.
Lebanese sources also denied claims about Hannibal’s upcoming release.
The case has revealed negotiations between the lawyer of the Hannibal case and the lawyer on the case of the disappearance of Moussa al-Sadr, the founder of the Supreme Islamic Shiite Council in Lebanon, who went missing during a visit to Libya in August 1978.
Imam Moussa al-Sadr has never been found. The negotiations between the lawyers took place around two months ago but apparently “reached a dead end.”
The lawyers supposedly told local news Asharq Al-Awsat that the Lebanese side promised to release Hannibal in return for “accurate information about the fate of Sadr and his companions,” but Hannibal insisted that only former Libyan prime minister Abdessalam Jalloud knew the fate of Sadr.
Related: Muammar Gaddafi’s Son Revealed Information About The Disappearance Of Lebanese Imam Mousa Al-Sadr