Washington, D.C. – November 11, 2025 – Hostage Aid welcomes the release of Hannibal Gaddafi from Lebanon after nearly ten years of unlawful detention.
Hannibal Gaddafi, the son of the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, was abducted and later detained in Lebanon in 2015. He was accused of withholding information concerning the fate of Imam Musa al-Sadr, a prominent Lebanese Shi’ite cleric who disappeared with his two companions, Sheikh Mohamad Yaacoub and journalist Abbas Badreddine, during an official visit to Libya in 1978. At the time of their disappearance, Hannibal Gaddafi was less than three years old.
For years, Gaddafi was held in Lebanese custody without trial. In his own words, he was confined for years in “a windowless but ventilated room underground.” In 2023, he resorted to a hunger strike to protest his detention, which ultimately led to hospitalization and raised renewed international concern over his case. Hostage Aid followed his case closely and raised serious concerns regarding his wrongful detention with top Lebanese government and judicial authorities. Gaddafi was finally released on Nov 10th and had his travel ban lifted after paying $900,000 in bail.
“Today, after nearly ten years, Hannibal Gaddafi finally regains his freedom,” said Nizar Zakka, President of Hostage Aid Worldwide. “While many in Lebanon chose to remain silent, I could not. I made sure that people in Lebanon understood this was indeed a case of wrongful detention. The widespread denial within the country was largely tied to the unresolved disappearance of Imam Musa al-Sadr and his two companions, Mohamad Yaacoub and Abbas Badreddine in Libya, a mystery that has persisted for nearly five decades,” Zakka continued. “As Hostage Aid worked on the case of Musa al-Sadr with the family of Badreddine in the U.S in their pursuit of truth and accountability, it became clear to me that I also had a responsibility to address Hannibal Gaddafi’s case. One wrong does not justify another.”
Hostage Aid Worldwide remains committed to advocating for the release of all hostages and wrongful detainees worldwide.
