Captivity in Lebanon
On 11 December 2015, Hannibal was kidnapped and held in Lebanon by an armed group demanding information about the disappearance of Shiite Imam Musa al-Sadr, Sheikh Muhammad Yaacoub, and journalist Abbas Badreddine, but was later released in the city of Zahlé.
After being released from his kidnapping, an arrest warrant was issued against Hannibal by the Lebanese government over the disappearance of al-Sadr, and he was arrested. A request by the Syrian government to return Gaddafi on the grounds that he was a political refugee was denied by the Lebanese government, claiming he was a wanted man in Lebanon for withholding information regarding the disappearance of al-Sadr. In August 2016, al-Sadr's family filed a lawsuit against Gaddafi over his role in the disappearance of the Imam, despite the fact that Sadr's disappearance in 1978 occurred when Hannibal was two years old.
In 2019, Russia, which developed close ties with Hannibal's older brother Saif al-Islam, allegedly pushed for Hannibal's release and offered him asylum in Moscow.
Hannibal cited the fact that he was just three years old at the time of the event as proof of his innocence. He also stated that his father Muammar did not meet Sadr in August 1978 as he was in Sirte. Instead, Sadr and his entourage were hosted by Libyan Prime Minister Abdessalam Jalloud in Tripoli. Hannibal claimed that Jalloud, and Ahmed Gaddaf al-Dam were the only living people with knowledge about Sadr's disappearance.
His older brother Saif al-Islam attempted to negotiate his release behind the scenes through intermediaries, including Lebanese businessman Mohammed Jamil Derbah (a former associate of the late British gangster John Palmer), French-Algerian lobbyist Tayeb Benabderrahmane and French-Iraqi businessman Souha al-Bedri. Several foreign governments, including Turkey, also lobbied for Hannibal's release, but their efforts were blocked at the highest level by the Shia-dominated Amal Movement and Hezbollah. Several associates of former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, including paparazzi Michèle Marchand and businessman Noël Dubus, were allegedly involved in a plot to free Hannibal in exchange for Hannibal's testimony absolving Sarkozy in the alleged Libyan financing in the 2007 French presidential election scandal.
The BBC reported in June 2023 that Hannibal had gone on hunger strike to protest against his prolonged detention in Lebanon. According to one of his lawyers, Hannibal had “spasms in his muscles, hands and legs, dizziness and headaches, and prior medical problems in his spine and hips deteriorated" because of his hunger strike. On 22 June 2023, Hannibal was hospitalized in Lebanon after a two-week hunger strike. On 2 July 2023, Hannibal was reportedly hospitalized again after suffering a sharp drop in his blood sugar level.
In January 2024, Human Rights Watch (HRW) called on Lebanon to release Hannibal Gaddafi, saying he had been held on "spurious charges" for eight years.
On 17 October 2025, a Lebanese court ordered the release of Hannibal Gaddafi, who had been detained for ten years without trial, on bail of $11 million. Following the visit of a Libyan delegation, the bail amount was reduced to $900,000.
On 6 November 2025, the Government of National Unity announced the release of Hannibal Gaddafi after posting bail. The Lebanese authorities also expressed "a response that led to the decision to release the person concerned and cancel the imposed bail, within the framework of the spirit of brotherhood and historical relations that unite the two brotherly peoples," and to activate diplomatic relations between Libya and Lebanon. Lebanese authorities also lifted a ban on Gaddafi traveling abroad.
South African authorities agreed to host Hannibal Gaddafi in November 2025, following his release from prison in Lebanon.
