Lebanese Charges against Gadhafi to be Dropped in Wake of his Death

The death of former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi has ended the possibility of persecuting him in Lebanon over his alleged role in the disappearance of Imam Moussa al-Sadr, reported the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat on Saturday.

Lebanese judicial sources told the daily that Lebanon’s judicial council will follow up on the matter through the necessary diplomatic means and concerned ministries in order to eventually drop the case against Gadhafi.

The council had set November 18 as a date to issue a verdict in the case, they said.

It will however pursue the charges against six of Gadhafi’s assistants who allegedly played a role in Sadr’s disappearance, leading to in absentia verdicts against them, added the sources.

A meeting was meanwhile held on Saturday at the headquarters of the Higher Islamic Shiite Council, headed by Vice President Abdul Amir Qabalan, with the higher national authority following up on the Sadr’s disappearance.

A statement issued after the meeting congratulated the Libyan people over “ridding themselves of the tyrant Gadhafi, which was the inevitable fate of a person who was not only a danger to his people, but the entire Ummah and humanity.”

It also called on the Libyan National Transitional Council to immediately begin serious work in determining Sadr and his colleagues’ whereabouts.

Sadr vanished, amid mysterious circumstances and was last seen in Libya where he was invited by Gadhafi.

At the time, Sadr was trying to negotiate an end to the Lebanese civil war (1975-1990), in which Palestinian factions were involved.

Gadhafi was believed to be shipping weapons to the Palestinians and other groups and Sadr, according to reports, was hoping to convince the Libyan leader to refrain from stoking the unrest in Lebanon.

But his visit to Tripoli along with two aides, Mohammed Yacoub and Abbas Badreddine, took a sour turn after he got into a heated argument with Gadhafi who ordered that the three men be "taken away," according to an indictment against the Libyan leader issued by Lebanese authorities.

Libyan authorities have stated that the three officials left Tripoli to Italy, who after conducting an investigation in the matter denied the claims.

In 2004, the passports of Sadr and Yacoub were found in a hotel in Rome.

In August 2008, Lebanon issued arrest warrants against Gadhafi and some of his aides, accusing them of kidnapping Sadr and his companions.

Relations between Libya and Lebanon have been at a low point since the cleric's disappearance, which dealt a heavy blow to the Shiite community.