Lebanon arrests former MP in Qadhafi kidnapping case

BEIRUT: Lebanese authorities have arrested a former lawmaker in connection with the mysterious kidnapping of Hannibal Qadhafi, the high-rolling son of the late Libyan dictator, a security source told AFP on Friday.

Intelligence services brought in former MP Hassan Yaacoub for questioning around 11:00 am local time (0900 GMT) on Thursday as part of their investigation into the brief kidnapping of Qadhafi, the security source said.

Qadhafi, who resided in Syria, was kidnapped on December 11 in Lebanon’s Bekaa valley near the Syrian border, but was freed by police hours later.

Earlier this week, Lebanese authorities charged Qadhafi with withholding information about the disappearance of revered cleric Mussa Sadr, who vanished in Libya in 1978.

According to the security source, investigators discovered that Yaacoub had orchestrated an elaborate scheme to seize Qadhafi from Syria and bring him to Lebanon.

"They discovered that Yaacoub had worked with a woman named Fatima to lure Qadhafi from the coastal Syrian province Latakia to Damascus, then to Lebanon," he said.

Security forces arrested Yaacoub, who will undergo further questioning and will be held until authorities decide whether to charge him.

Lebanon’s national news agency confirmed Yaacoub’s arrest and said it had sparked protests and road closures in east Lebanon.