Hannibal Gaddafi Suffers Health, Psychological Setback, Refuses to See Doctors

Hannibal Gaddafi (Ismail Zitouny- Reuters)
Hannibal Gaddafi (Ismail Zitouny- Reuters)
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Hannibal Gaddafi Suffers Health, Psychological Setback, Refuses to See Doctors

Hannibal Gaddafi (Ismail Zitouny- Reuters)
Hannibal Gaddafi (Ismail Zitouny- Reuters)

An official Lebanese source revealed that Hannibal Gaddafi, the son of former Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi, “is going through a very difficult health and psychological condition,” as he awaits his prosecution seven years after his detention under an arrest warrant in Lebanon.

The Lebanese judiciary accuses the son of Muammar Gaddafi of “withholding information related to the fate of Imam Musa al-Sadr and his two companions, Sheikh Muhammad Yaqoub and journalist Abbas Badreddine,” who went missing during a visit to the Libyan capital in 1978.

The official source told Asharq Al-Awsat that Hannibal “suffers from difficult health symptoms,” adding that his condition has further deteriorated in recent weeks.

“He refuses to talk to anyone or to be examined by doctors,” according to the source.

Gaddafi’s attorney, Ghassan al-Mawla, refused to give details on his client’s situation, telling Asharq Al-Awsat that he was “committed to the instructions of the Bar Association, which prevent lawyers from making media statements.”

Hannibal Gaddafi’s judicial case has seen no progress in seven years, due to the Libyan authorities’ reluctance to cooperate with Judge Zaher Hamadeh, who is in charge of the matter.

An informed judicial source told Asharq Al-Awsat that the judicial investigator has “sent several memos to notify 13 Libyan individuals of their suspicious involvement in the case, including officers and key cadres in the Muammar Gaddafi regime.”

But Libyan authorities deliberately ignored the Lebanese requests, the source underlined.

The source stressed that Hannibal was arrested according to the law and without any injustice, adding that legal measures were taken against him for concealing information about the kidnapping and disappearance of Imam al-Sadr and his two companions and his suspicious involvement in the case.



At Least 69 Migrants Killed in Shipwreck off Morocco on Deadly Route to Spain

Guards on the Canary Islands during the rescue of a boat carrying 57 illegal immigrants (EPA)
Guards on the Canary Islands during the rescue of a boat carrying 57 illegal immigrants (EPA)
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At Least 69 Migrants Killed in Shipwreck off Morocco on Deadly Route to Spain

Guards on the Canary Islands during the rescue of a boat carrying 57 illegal immigrants (EPA)
Guards on the Canary Islands during the rescue of a boat carrying 57 illegal immigrants (EPA)

At least 69 people died after a boat headed from West Africa to the Canary Islands capsized off Morocco on Dec. 19, Malian authorities said, as data showed deaths of migrants attempting to reach Spain surged to an all-time high in 2024.

The makeshift boat was carrying around 80 people when it capsized. Only 11 survived, the Ministry of Malians Abroad said in a statement on Thursday, after collecting information to reconstruct the incident.

A crisis unit has been set up to monitor the situation, it added, Reuters reported. The Atlantic migration route from the coast of West Africa to Spain's Canary Islands, typically used by African migrants trying to reach mainland Spain, has seen a surge this year, with 41,425 arrivals in January-November already exceeding last year's record 39,910.

Years of conflict in the Sahel region that includes Mali, unemployment and the impact of climate change on farming communities are among the reasons why people attempt the crossing.

One person died among 300 people who arrived on six boats on Friday on the island of El Hierro in the Canaries, according to the Red Cross.

The Atlantic route, which includes departure points in Senegal and Gambia, Mauritania and Morocco, is the world's deadliest, according to migrant aid group Walking Borders.

In its annual report released this week, the group said 9,757 migrants died at sea in 2024 trying to reach the Spanish archipelago from Africa's Atlantic coast. A record 10,457 people - or nearly 30 people a day - died attempting to reach Spain this year from all routes, according to the report.

The route departing from Mauritania, which has been particularly well used this year by migrants leaving the Sahel region, was the deadliest, accounting for 6,829 deaths.