The son of deposed Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi, freed in Lebanon after a decade behind bars, is now seeking to travel to South Africa, according to a spokeswoman.
Hannibal Qaddafi, who had been held on accusations linked to the 1970s disappearance of a Lebanese cleric during his father’s reign, was released last week on bail of $900 000 (around R15.4 million) following an intervention by Libyan officials.
The 49-year-old is awaiting permission from the United Nations – which sanctioned him in 2011 – to leave the Middle Eastern country, said Ines Harrak, the communications officer for his defence team.
Hannibal is unwilling to travel to Libya or any other Arab country for “pure security reasons” and expects to leave for South Africa soon, although “all destination options are still open”, Harrak said by phone.
The younger Qaddafi’s fate has been a hot-button topic in the North African OPEC member – a sign of the potency of the family name almost 15 years after an armed uprising brought a violent end to his father’s four-decade dictatorship.
Libya, home to the continent’s largest oil reserves, has known little peace since and is split between rival governments in its east and west.
Hannibal held no official role in Qaddafi’s regime, but his brother Saif Al-Islam was heir apparent. The sibling made a shock return to the political scene in 2021, garnering some local support for his candidacy in the Libyan presidential elections that were eventually cancelled.
One of Muammar’s several living sons, Hannibal remains sanctioned by both the UN and European Union for his close association with the regime and is subject to asset freezes and movement restrictions.
Harrak didn’t comment on why Hannibal chose South Africa, which has long and complicated ties with Libya.
Muammar Qaddafi supported the decades-long struggle against apartheid and his government invested in assets including hotels there.
The case of Musa al-Sadr, an influential Lebanese Shia cleric and politician who vanished with two associates on a visit to Libya in 1978, has soured Libyan-Lebanese relations for decades. Lebanon has accused Muammar Qaddafi of being behind the disappearance – something Libyan authorities denied.
Muammar Qaddafi in 2010. Photographer: Victor Sokolowicz/Bloomberg
With Libya in revolt, Hannibal fled to Syria, where he was kidnapped by gunmen who transferred him to neighbouring Lebanon.
He was charged with “withholding information” related to the al-Sadr mystery – events that occurred when he was only two years old.
He never faced a formal trial. Harrak denied Hannibal had any information about al-Sadr.
A delegation from Libya’s Tripoli-based, internationally recognised government visited Beirut in November and submitted files related to al-Sadr’s disappearance, according to Harrak. An initial bail request of $11 million was then reduced.
She described Hannibal’s “extremely difficult” detention conditions in Lebanon that included years in a windowless cell. He’s suffering from a lack of vitamins and chronic headaches, Harrak said.
Hannibal has expressed “his sadness about the divided political situation” in Libya and is unlikely to engage in any political activity there at the present time, she added.
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