Libyan delegation to visit Lebanon over Imam Musa al-Sadr’s disappearance case

A delegation from the Libyan Ministry of Justice is expected to travel to Beirut to revive a 2014 memorandum of understanding regarding judicial cooperation between the two countries over disappearance of prominent Lebanese Shia leader Imam Musa al-Sadr in the North African nation more than 40 years ago.

Back in August 2023, Libyan Attorney General Siddiq al-Sour offered legal assistance in the case of the disappearance of Imam Musa al-Sadr, in exchange for the release of Hannibal Gaddafi, son of the slain Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who is being held in Lebanon since 2015.

An unnamed Lebanese judicial official said the delegates will meet with officials from the Lebanese Justice Ministry as well as members the committee overseeing the case of Hannibal Gaddafi.

The official denounced as “biased and one-sided” a recent Human Rights Watch report claiming that the son of former Libyan leader had been held on “spurious charges.”

The Lebanese judicial official went on to argue that the HRW report was based solely on “information obtained from Hannibal Gaddafi's defense team.”

Hannibal Gaddafi is “detained in a purely judicial matter,” the official continued, stressing that he was responsible for prisons during his father's rule, “including the one in which the imam was held.”

Back in August last year, Beirut also received a letter from Libyan authorities demanding Gaddafi's release.

Lebanese judicial officials have, however, stated that he would not be freed before Tripoli revealed information about Sadr's disappearance.

Later that month, Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri criticized Libya for “failing to cooperate” with the Lebanese judiciary and “concealing” information about the case.

Imam Musa al-Sadr was a highly revered Shia cleric of Iranian descent, who founded the Lebanese Amal (Hope) Movement in 1974. He came to Lebanon in 1959 to work for the rights of Shia Muslims in the port city of Tyre, located about 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of Beirut. 

The prominent Shia cleric disappeared on August 31, 1978, during an official visit to the Libyan capital Tripoli.

He was accompanied by Sheikh Mohammad Yaqoub and journalist Abbas Badreddine.

Lebanon still holds former Libyan officials responsible for the disappearance of the trio.

Since Muammar Gaddafi was deposed and killed in 2011, Lebanon and Iran have repeatedly called on the Libyan government to launch an investigation into Sadr's disappearance. 

Hannibal Gaddafi, held in custody in Lebanon, faces charges of withholding information regarding Sadr’s case.

In August 2016, Sadr's family filed a lawsuit against Gaddafi over his role in the disappearance of the senior Shia cleric.

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