justice
Son of Gaddafi on hunger strike in Lebanon
Being held in Lebanon since 2015: Hannibal al-Gaddafi (archive image). photo
© Morten Juh/epa/Scanpix/dpa
The fifth son of former Libyan ruler Muammar al-Gaddafi is protesting his detention on false charges. Hannibal al-Gaddafi does not use food as a means of leverage.
A son of former Libyan dictator Muammar al-Gaddafi has gone on a hunger strike in a Lebanese prison, according to his lawyer.
With the action, Hannibal al-Gaddafi wanted to protest against his imprisonment on the basis of untrue allegations and the “slow justice” in his case, his lawyer Paul Romanos told the German Press Agency. Al-Gaddafi began his hunger strike last weekend. He is being treated by a doctor and is suffering from headaches and muscle pain. The Lebanese judiciary has not yet commented on this.
Gaddafi’s fifth son has been held in Lebanon since 2015. He was kidnapped by Lebanese extremists eight years ago, handed over to the country’s authorities and has been in prison without trial ever since. He is accused of withholding information about the 1978 disappearance of Shia leader Musa al-Sadr in Libya. The Shiite Amal militia in Lebanon blames the Gaddafi regime for the disappearance of the Iranian cleric. Libya has always denied having anything to do with his disappearance.
In the past there had been conflicting reports of the Shia leader’s fate – some of which suggested that the late longtime Libyan ruler Muammar al-Gaddafi ordered his assassination.