Hannibal Gaddafi, son of the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, has been released from custody in Lebanon after being held for nearly a decade without trial.
Lebanese authorities detained Mr. Gaddafi, now 49, in 2015. He was accused of withholding information regarding the disappearance of a Lebanese Shia cleric in Libya in 1978, when Mr. Gaddafi was a toddler.
Human rights organizations had previously criticized the accusations.
His lawyer confirmed to AFP that the $900,000 bail had been posted.
“It’s the end of a nightmare for him that lasted 10 years,” stated Laurent Bayon.
In October, a judge initially set bail at $11 million, but this was later reduced following an appeal by his legal team, according to AFP.
Mr. Bayon indicated his client would be departing Lebanon for a “confidential” destination.
Bayon told AFP, “If Gaddafi was able to be arbitrarily detained in Lebanon for 10 years, it’s because the justice system was not independent.”
In 2015, Mr. Gaddafi was briefly abducted by an armed group in Lebanon prior to being taken into custody by Lebanese authorities.
Following the overthrow and death of his father in 2011, he fled to Syria and subsequently resided under house arrest in Oman with his wife, Aline Skaf.
Before the collapse of his father’s regime, Mr. Gaddafi was known for his extravagant lifestyle.
The disappearance of Shia cleric Musa al-Sadr in Libya in 1978 has long been a point of contention between Libya and Lebanon.
At the time of the cleric’s disappearance, Hannibal Gaddafi was only two years old and never held a prominent position in the Libyan government as an adult.