Hannibal Gaddafi, the son of late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, has been released from detention in Lebanon after paying $900,000 bail, ending a decade-long custody battle that had become a flashpoint between Tripoli and Beirut.

Lebanese authorities confirmed the release late Monday, saying the move followed a ruling by a Beirut investigative judge citing “time served” and the absence of new evidence in the long-running case. Gaddafi, 49, had been held since 2015, accused of withholding information about the disappearance of Lebanese cleric Musa al-Sadr, who vanished during a visit to Libya in 1978.

“The release was carried out in full compliance with Lebanese law,” said Judge Zaher Hamadeh, who oversaw the proceedings. “No further restrictions will apply to Mr. Gaddafi unless new evidence emerges.”

A Decade in Detention

Hannibal Gaddafi’s arrest stemmed from one of the Middle East’s most enduring mysteries — the disappearance of Imam Musa al-Sadr, a prominent Shiite cleric and founder of Lebanon’s Amal movement. Al-Sadr and two companions vanished after traveling to Tripoli for a meeting with Muammar Gaddafi’s government.

Though Gaddafi, then a child, was not implicated at the time, Lebanese authorities later detained him in 2015 on charges of “concealing information” about the case. His lawyers and family repeatedly called the detention “politically motivated”, saying he had no knowledge of events that occurred when he was only three years old.

During his imprisonment, Gaddafi was transferred between Beirut’s General Security headquarters and Roumieh Prison, Lebanon’s most notorious detention facility. He frequently complained of deteriorating health, prompting international human rights organizations — including Amnesty International — to call for his release.

“This was an act of political leverage, not justice,” said Mohamed al-Zawi, a Tripoli-based analyst. “Lebanon held him as a symbol of unfinished anger over Libya’s past.”

Political Ripples

The release has already triggered strong reactions across the region. In Lebanon, members of the Amal Movement, founded by al-Sadr, criticized the decision as a betrayal of justice. Party officials called for a parliamentary inquiry into why Gaddafi was released without facing trial.

In Libya, however, the decision was met with muted relief. The Government of National Unity (GNU) in Tripoli praised the outcome as “a long-overdue correction,” while Gaddafi family loyalists framed it as a vindication of what they see as decades of persecution.

“For the Gaddafi family, this is a symbolic victory,” said Salem El-Fitouri, a Libyan political commentator. “Hannibal’s release is more than personal — it’s part of the family’s quiet effort to reclaim legitimacy.”

A Legacy That Still Divides

The Gaddafi name remains deeply polarizing across North Africa and the Middle East. While Hannibal Gaddafi kept a relatively low profile after his father’s overthrow in 2011, his brothers Saif al-Islam and Mutassim played key roles during Libya’s conflict years, with Saif still facing an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant for alleged war crimes.

Hannibal’s legal team has signaled that he intends to return to Libya “in the near future” but will remain under international watch due to travel restrictions imposed by Interpol Red Notices still pending review.

“After 10 years behind bars, he’s free, but his past will continue to shadow him,” said El-Fitouri.

The Takeaway

Hannibal Gaddafi’s release closes one of Lebanon’s longest-running detentions of a foreign national - but it does little to resolve the mystery of Musa al-Sadr’s fate, a case that continues to shape Lebanese politics nearly five decades later.

As Beirut struggles with internal instability and regional pressure, the decision underscores how old grievances still dictate new alliances across the Middle East.

“In this region,” said one Lebanese law professor, “no story truly ends — it just reopens when the politics change.”