Lebanon's Public Prosecutor of Lebanon's Court of Cassation Ghassan Oueidat received a letter from the Libyan public prosecutor, Counselor al-Siddiq al-Sour, inquiring about the reasons for the continued detention of Hannibal Gaddafi, who has been detained in Lebanon since 2015.
The letter also addressed the judicial assistance that Lebanon requires from the Libyan side regarding the case of Imam Musa al-Sadr and his companions Sheikh Mohammed Yaacoub and journalist Abbas Badreddine.
The President of the Supreme Judicial Council, Judge Suhail Abboud, and the judicial investigator in this case, Judge Zaher Hamadeh, also received a copy of the letter.
Libyan cooperation is conditional on observing the requirements of domestic law.
A Lebanese judicial source said that the Libyan memorandum asked to provide it with the accusations attributed to Libyan officials that the Lebanese judiciary had previously issued arrest warrants in absentia against them, accusing them of involvement in the crime of kidnapping and hiding al-Sadr and his two companions on Libyan soil in 1978.
A Lebanese judicial source told Asharq Al-Awsat that Oweidat "referred the letter to Judge Hamadeh to provide the answers requested by the Libyan side."
The source explained that Judge Hamadeh began studying the Libyan message as he was responsible for the case.
He is preparing a report to refute the accusations directed at Hannibal Gaddafi and the available evidence against him regarding the charges attributed to him in the Sadr case, which led to his continued detention from 2015 until now.
The Lebanese judiciary accuses Hannibal Gaddafi of concealing information regarding the fate of al-Sadr and his two companions. He is also accused of direct connection to the crime because he was responsible for political prisons during the last years of his father's rule.
The Libyan step represents a positive development, as it is the first time that the Libyan Prosecutor General has agreed to cooperate with the Lebanese judiciary on a file that is a priority for most Lebanese.
A source told Asharq Al-Awsat that the positivity shown by the Libyan side resulted from the failure of all the pressure exerted on Lebanon to release Gaddafi.
The Libyan Public Prosecutor offered assistance in exchange for Gaddafi's release and enabled him to leave Lebanon, either to Libya or any other country, including Syria, where he was residing as a refugee following the fall of his father's regime.
The letter acknowledged "the challenges facing the Lebanese investigation into the disappearance of al-Sadr and his two companions."
The Libyan side stressed there were capabilities to overcome these challenges through conducting judicial cooperation between the public prosecutions of the two countries, adding that it doesn't object to the request for international legal assistance.
The Libyan side requested the approval of the Lebanese judiciary to enable the Libyan Public Prosecution to hear the statements of Gaddafi, discuss with him the information he provided, and find out the information he withheld.
Libya would then provide the Lebanese authorities with its findings as soon as the procedures are completed.
The Lebanese judicial source said that the Libyan request needed to clarify whether Hannibal's hearing would take place in Lebanon or abroad.
Additionally, the Libyan positivity does not imply the extradition of Libyan individuals from the ranks of Muammar Gaddafi's regime, based on the fact that the Libyan Criminal Procedure Law prohibits the extradition of Libyans accused abroad of committing a crime or misdemeanor.
However, he pointed out that it was possible to take legal action locally. When providing the Libyan Public Prosecution with the facts attributed to the Libyan officials who are defendants in the case, it can hear their statements and give the Lebanese authorities the results at appropriate times.
