Lebanon: Families of 'Gaddafi-son kidnappers' protest outside Iran embassy
Lebanon: Families of 'Gaddafi-son kidnappers' protest outside Iran embassy
Supporters of Amal movement politicians detained under suspicion of involvement with the kidnapping of Gadaffi's son in December demonstrate outside the Iranian embassy in Beirut.
2 min read
The detained Lebanese politicians were accused of complicity in the kidnapping of Hannibal Gaddafi [Getty]
A sit-in at the Iranian embassy in Beirut was dispersed on Wednesday when a number of embassy guards fired warning shots into the air.
The protest was staged by the Yacoub family and their allies - supporters of former MP Hassan Yacoub, who has been detained since December, and his brother Hussain, who was arrested on Monday at Beruit International airport.
Both men, leaders in the Shia-dominanted Amal movement, are accused of involvement in the kidnapping of Hannibal Gaddafi, the son of the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, in December last year.
Hannibal was later handed over to Lebanese police after being questioned by Shia militants.
Following the arrest of her second son on Monday, Yacoub's mother was reportedly transferred to hospital with shock, and family members protested at the airport, as well as Hizballah parliamentary offices.
The Wednesday sit-in demanded action from Shia representatives in Lebanon within Amal and Hizballah, which dominate the political sphere in Lebanon, demanding that they do more to release Hassan and Hussein Yacoub.
Lebanese forces prevented the family from approaching the entrance of the embassy while a member of the family, Dr Ali Yacoub, attempted to meet with the Iranian ambassador to the country.
The kidnapping of Hannibal Gaddafi in December was widely seen as coming in retribution for the kidnapping of Shiekh Mohammed Yacoub - the father of the two now detained - and prominent Shia Imam Mousa al-Sadr, who both vanished in 1978 in Libya, along with a Lebanese journalist named Abas Badreddine.
Many in Lebanon accuse Hannibal Gaddafi, whose lingerie model wife is Lebanese, of involvement in the kidnapping during his father's reign in Libya. Hannibal was three years old in 1978.
Al-Sadr founded the Lebanese Resistance Regiments, which later became known as the Amal Movement.
The protest was staged by the Yacoub family and their allies - supporters of former MP Hassan Yacoub, who has been detained since December, and his brother Hussain, who was arrested on Monday at Beruit International airport.
Both men, leaders in the Shia-dominanted Amal movement, are accused of involvement in the kidnapping of Hannibal Gaddafi, the son of the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, in December last year.
Hannibal was later handed over to Lebanese police after being questioned by Shia militants.
Following the arrest of her second son on Monday, Yacoub's mother was reportedly transferred to hospital with shock, and family members protested at the airport, as well as Hizballah parliamentary offices.
The Wednesday sit-in demanded action from Shia representatives in Lebanon within Amal and Hizballah, which dominate the political sphere in Lebanon, demanding that they do more to release Hassan and Hussein Yacoub.
Lebanese forces prevented the family from approaching the entrance of the embassy while a member of the family, Dr Ali Yacoub, attempted to meet with the Iranian ambassador to the country.
The kidnapping of Hannibal Gaddafi in December was widely seen as coming in retribution for the kidnapping of Shiekh Mohammed Yacoub - the father of the two now detained - and prominent Shia Imam Mousa al-Sadr, who both vanished in 1978 in Libya, along with a Lebanese journalist named Abas Badreddine.
Many in Lebanon accuse Hannibal Gaddafi, whose lingerie model wife is Lebanese, of involvement in the kidnapping during his father's reign in Libya. Hannibal was three years old in 1978.
Al-Sadr founded the Lebanese Resistance Regiments, which later became known as the Amal Movement.
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