Hannibal Qaddafi, son of former Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi, is set to be released after 10 years in custody in Lebanon, a senior Lebanese official told The National.
Mr Qaddafi had his $11 million bail reduced to $900,000 and had his travel ban removed, the Lebanese official said.
The judge's ruling means Mr Qaddafi can leave Lebanese territory immediately after paying the bail, which he is expected to do on Friday. The Lebanese official said it was unclear where he will travel next.
The Tripoli-based Libyan government said he had been released.
Mr Qaddafi is accused of withholding information about the fate of Musa Al Sadr, an influential Lebanese Shiite cleric who disappeared during a trip to Libya in 1978. Mr Qaddafi was two years old at the time.
A senior Libyan delegation this week met top Lebanese officials in Beirut in a bid to secure a release for Mr Qaddafi, who had been held without trial since 2015. The news of his release was first reported by the Tripoli-based Libyan government and later confirmed by the Lebanese judiciary.
A statement by the Government of National Unity in Tripoli praised the “responsiveness shown by the Lebanese authorities” and the “understanding” shown by President Joseph Aoun and Parliamentary Speaker Nabih Berri.
Lebanon last month ordered that Mr Qaddafi be released on bail of $11 million, an amount his lawyers said he could cannot afford. He earlier went on a hunger strike over his treatment.
The Libyan delegation visiting Beirut this week was led by Ibrahim Dbeibah, a nephew of Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, who is the Prime Minister of the Tripoli government.
A Libyan official told The National this week that Mr Qaddafi might be released as part of a deal “to build again the diplomatic relations between Lebanon and Libya”.
The Tripoli government's statement welcomed the “intentions expressed by the Lebanese leadership to reactivate diplomatic relations between the two countries”.
Lebanese-Libyan relations had long been strained over the disappearance of Mr Al Sadr.
Mr Berri leads the Amal Movement founded by Mr Al Sadr, whose disappearance still evokes strong emotions in Lebanon nearly 50 years later.
Mr Qaddafi fled Libya in 2011 amid protests that ended his father's 42-year rule. The son was living in exile in Syria with his Lebanese wife Aline Skaf and their children when he was abducted and taken to Lebanon.
He was later handed over to Lebanese authorities by a local armed group and has been detained since.
