Hannibal Qaddafi has accused Lebanese authorities of corruption as he continues a hunger strike over his eight-year detention in the country.
The son of former long-time ruler Muammar, Mr Qaddafi has been charged in Lebanon with concealing information about the fate of Imam Musa Al Sadr, the revered Lebanese Shiite Muslim cleric who disappeared while on a trip to Libya in 1978. Hannibal Qaddafi was two years old at the time of Mr Sadr's disappearance.
He began the strike on June 3 in protest against his detention without trial.
In a statement shared with local channel Al Jadeed, Mr Qaddafi decried a “system of corruption in Lebanon” that is “intertwined and intersecting between political leaders and the judiciary”.
He claimed that “the political authority in Lebanon sets conditions for my release and leverages my freedom with the Libyan money withheld by Lebanese banks, amounting to 2 billion dollars”.
Confirming that he was continuing the hunger strike, Mr Qaddafi said the “responsibility for the deterioration of my health” lay with the Lebanese authorities.
He fled Libya in 2011 as the uprising against his father's 42-year rule spread. Muammar would be captured and killed by rebels.
Hannibal Qaddafi was detained by an armed group in 2015, and handed over to authorities.
Iran-backed Hezbollah and its ally the Amal movement – founded by Mr Sadr and now led by influential Parliamentary Speaker Nabih Berri – dominate Shiite politics in Lebanon.
Mr Sadr, who Libya said left the country safely in 1978, is widely believed to have been killed shortly after his disappearance.
