(MENAFN) Lebanese authorities have released Hannibal Gaddafi, son of the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, on bail after nearly a decade in custody over allegations related to a missing cleric. His release on Monday followed a court decision that reduced his bail from $11 million to approximately $900,000 and lifted a travel ban that had been in place since his arrest in 2015.

“Hannibal is officially free and has the full right to choose the destination that he wants,” his lawyer, Charbel Milad al-Khoury, stated.

Gaddafi, 49, had been held in Beirut without trial on charges of withholding information regarding the 1978 disappearance of prominent Lebanese Shiite cleric Musa al-Sadr and two aides during a visit to Libya. The cleric’s fate remains one of Lebanon’s longest-standing political mysteries. Followers of al-Sadr have accused the former Libyan regime of abducting him after a meeting with Muammar Gaddafi, claims which Tripoli has consistently denied.

Hannibal Gaddafi, married to a Lebanese model, was arrested in Lebanon after being kidnapped in Syria, where he had been living in exile following the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that led to his father’s overthrow and death.

His family and the Libyan government in Tripoli have repeatedly sought his release, citing his “deteriorating” health and noting that he was only two years old at the time of the cleric’s disappearance, with no involvement in the incident.

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