Lebanon and Libya discuss the disappearance of the cleric and Gaddafi's son

BEIRUT (AP) — A Libyan delegation visited Beirut this week to reopen talks with Lebanese authorities over the fate of a prominent Lebanese cleric missing for decades in Libya and the release of the son of late dictator Muammar Gaddafi who has been detained in Lebanon for 2011 years, officials said.

Security and judicial officials said the talks were aimed at reviving a largely dormant agreement between Lebanon and Libya reached in 2014 to cooperate in the investigation into the 1978 disappearance of Shiite cleric Musa al-Sadr.

The fate of the cleric is a sensitive topic. His family believes he may still be alive in a Libyan prison, although most Lebanese assume Al-Sadr, now 94, is dead.

The son of the late Libyan ruler Hannibal Gaddafi has been detained in Lebanon since 2015, after being kidnapped in neighboring Syria, where he was living as a political refugee. He was kidnapped by Lebanese militiamen who demanded information about Al-Sadr's fate.

The Lebanese authorities released him from the kidnappers, but later arrested him and accused him of concealing information about Al-Sadr's disappearance.

An official familiar with the case said that the delegation left Beirut after spending several days in Lebanon, where it met with the Minister of Justice and the judge who heads the investigation committee into Al-Sadr's disappearance.

The official described the talks as “positive” but did not clarify or clarify whether they had achieved any results. He added that the delegation is expected to return next week, adding that the Lebanese and Libyan authorities are dealing with the two cases separately. He said that “there is no agreement” yet to release Gaddafi.

All officers spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to journalists.