Hussein Yaaqoub Granted Bail in Gadhafi Abduction Case
The brother of former lawmaker Hassan Yaaqoub was released on bail on Wednesday despite accusations of involvement in the kidnapping of Hannibal Gadhafi, the son of slain Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.
Mount Lebanon Examining Magistrate Peter Jermanous ordered the release of Hussein Yaaqoub in exchange for a bail payment of LL5 million for lack of evidence.
Under his bail conditions, Yaaqoub, who was arrested at the Rafik Hariri International Airport before boarding a flight on Monday, was barred from leaving the country and speaking to the press.
Jermanous issued on Tuesday an arrest warrant against Yaaqoub after hearing his testimony.
His brother Hassan, who has been in detention since December, was hospitalized late Monday after suffering a heart attack.
The two brothers are the sons of Sheikh Mohammed Yaaqoub – one of the two companions who disappeared with revered Shiite cleric and founder of the AMAL Movement Moussa al-Sadr in Libya in 1978.
They are accused of involvement in the kidnapping of Gadhafi.
Hannibal was abducted in a Syrian area near the Lebanese border in December before being smuggled into Lebanon's Bekaa region. He was handed over hours later to Lebanese security forces.
Lebanese authorities have charged Hannibal with withholding information about the disappearance of al-Sadr.
Hussein's release on Wednesday came hours after women from the Yaaqoub family held a sit-in near the Iranian Embassy in Beirut's Bir Hassan neighborhood.
They said their protest was a show of support for the mother of the two brothers, who was also hospitalized on Monday following the arrest of Hussein.
G.K.
M.T.
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