Gadhafi’s Son Goes on Hunger Strike in Lebanon to Protest Detention without Trial

Hannibal Gadhafi, son of late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, watches an elite military unit exercise in Zlitan, Libya, Sept. 25, 2011. (AP)
Hannibal Gadhafi, son of late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, watches an elite military unit exercise in Zlitan, Libya, Sept. 25, 2011. (AP)
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Gadhafi’s Son Goes on Hunger Strike in Lebanon to Protest Detention without Trial

Hannibal Gadhafi, son of late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, watches an elite military unit exercise in Zlitan, Libya, Sept. 25, 2011. (AP)
Hannibal Gadhafi, son of late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, watches an elite military unit exercise in Zlitan, Libya, Sept. 25, 2011. (AP)

A son of Libya’s late leader Moammar Gadhafi, who has been held in Lebanon for more than seven years, began a hunger strike Saturday to protest his detention without trial, his lawyer said.

Hannibal Gadhafi has been held in Lebanon since 2015 after he was kidnapped from neighboring Syria where he had been living as a political refugee. He was abducted by Lebanese militants demanding information about the fate of a Shiite cleric who went missing in Libya 45 years ago.

Gadhafi was later taken by Lebanese authorities and has been held in a Beirut jail without trial.

Attorney Paul Romanos told The Associated Press that his client started the hunger strike Saturday morning and “he is serious and will continue with it until the end.” Romanos did not go into details of the case as he was not authorized to speak about it to the media.

Gadhafi issued a statement describing his conditions.

“How can a political prisoner be held without a fair trial all these years?” Gadhafi, who is married to a Lebanese woman, wrote in his statement.

The Libyan citizen added that now that he is on hunger strike, “those who are treating me unjustly” will be responsible for the results. He added that “the time has come to liberate the law from the hands of politicians.”

Romanos said his client suffers from back pain due to being held in a small cell for years without being able to move or exercise.

The disappearance of prominent Lebanese Shiite cleric Moussa al-Sadr in 1978 has been a long-standing sore point in Lebanon. The cleric’s family believes he may still be alive in a Libyan prison, though most Lebanese presume al-Sadr is dead. He would be 94 years old.

Al-Sadr was the founder of a Shiite political and military group that took part in the lengthy Lebanese civil war that began in 1975.

Born in the Iranian city of Qom, al-Sadr came to Lebanon in 1959 to work for the rights of Shiites in the southern port town of Tyre. In 1974, a year before Lebanon’s 15-year civil war broke out, al-Sadr founded the Movement of the Deprived, attracting thousands of followers.

The following year, he established the military wing Amal — Arabic for “hope” and an acronym for the militia’s Arabic name, the Lebanese Resistance Brigades — which later fought in the civil war. The group is headed by powerful parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.

Since al-Sadr’s disappearance, Libya has maintained that the cleric and his two traveling companions left Tripoli in 1978 on a flight to Rome and suggested he was a victim of a power struggle among Shiites.

Most of al-Sadr’s followers are convinced that Moammar Gadhafi ordered al-Sadr killed in a dispute over Libyan payments to Lebanese militias.

The Libyan leader was killed by opposition fighters in 2011, ending his four-decade rule of the north African country. Even after his death, al-Sadr’s fate is still unknown.

Hannibal Gadhafi was born two years before al-Sadr disappeared. He fled to Algeria after Tripoli fell, along with his mother and several other relatives. He later ended up in Syria where he was given political asylum before being kidnapped and brought to Lebanon.



Yemen’s Humanitarian Lifeline on the Brink, IRC Warns

Aid agencies face increasing requests for assistance in the camps of displaced Yemenis (UN)
Aid agencies face increasing requests for assistance in the camps of displaced Yemenis (UN)
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Yemen’s Humanitarian Lifeline on the Brink, IRC Warns

Aid agencies face increasing requests for assistance in the camps of displaced Yemenis (UN)
Aid agencies face increasing requests for assistance in the camps of displaced Yemenis (UN)

As Yemen marks ten years of conflict and crisis ignited by the Houthis, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) warned that the country will face unprecedented challenges this year with expected reductions in US contributions, which accounted for more than half of total humanitarian funding to Yemen in 2024.

The Committee said the 2025 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP) seeks $2.47 billion to reach 10.5 million people—but as of March 2025, it is just 5% funded.

In 2024, the response received just over half of what was required, forcing aid agencies to scale back essential support such as food distributions and limit access to clean water and other services.

Therefore, IRC warned that expected reductions in US contributions, which accounted for more than half of total humanitarian funding to Yemen in 2024, threaten to widen this gap even further, placing millions at greater risk of hunger, disease, and further displacement.

The Committee also cautioned that a widening chasm between rising humanitarian needs and the funding required to alleviate them, risks leaving millions of Yemenis without access to food, healthcare and protection services.

In 2025, it said, an estimated 19.5 million people will need humanitarian assistance and protection—an increase of nearly 7% compared to 2024. Across the country, more than 83% of the population now lives in poverty.

More than 4.5 million people are now internally displaced with most displaced multiple times over the past decade. IRC teams said they are witnessing rising demand in displacement sites, where families face limited access to food, healthcare and clean water.

“These figures reflect the compounding toll of a crisis that has deepened year after year, leaving families with fewer resources, fewer services and no safe alternatives,” the Committee warned.

For families who have endured years of displacement and insecurity, humanitarian aid has been critical to survival.

“I remember the first time I heard the sounds of war. I felt a fear I had never known before. We lost our home, our livelihood, and most importantly, our sense of security. Living in this camp is a daily struggle with no privacy or safety,” said Abdulnasser Abdullah, a displaced father living in Al Qataysh camp.

He added: “But the healthcare assistance we have received has made a real difference—especially since we can’t afford basic medication or even a simple meal.”

Caroline Sekyewa, IRC’s Country Director in Yemen, said that for ten years, Yemenis have endured relentless conflict, economic collapse, and limited access to lifesaving health and nutrition services.

“Humanitarian aid has been their lifeline-preventing disease outbreaks, delivering healthcare, responding to natural disasters, and helping families to survive,” she said.

For donor governments to consider reducing or removing that support is not just short-sighted, it puts millions of lives at risk, the aid director affirmed.

“Yemen now stands on a precipice and without urgent support, we risk reversing years of hard-fought gains. Ultimately, humanitarian aid on its own cannot end the suffering being felt by millions in Yemen,” she said.

Sekyewa then revealed that last year, humanitarian organizations, in spite of a huge funding shortfall, reached more than 8 million people in need across the country.

“2025 must be a turning point in this crisis. With needs steadily increasing, we call upon all donors to step up and ensure that this year’s humanitarian needs and response plan is fully funded,” she affirmed.