Daughter: Imam Musa Al-Sadr Alive

Rasa - Daughter of kidnapped Shiite Cleric Imam Musa al-Sadr said on Sunday documents and evidence do not indicate the death of her father, adding that he is most likely still in prison.

News ID: 436603

Date: 26 February 2018 - 17:49

RNA - "The documents and evidence show that he is alive and imprisoned as there is no proof to the otherwise," Houra Sadr, also the manager of Imam Sadr institute, said.

She insisted on continued efforts by all relevant bodies and officials to shed light on the fate of her father, and reiterated, "He is still alive and kept incarcerated, but he has not yet been found and saved to return to us."

Last February, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi underlined Tehran's serious pursuit of the fate of Imam Musa al-Sadr.

"The case of Imam Musa al-Sadr is so important for the Iranian government that it has always been on its agenda," Qassemi said.

In April 2012, Libyan Government's Spokesman Nasser al-Manee announced that a series of documents belonging to the former Libyan regime indicate that the Iranian-born Lebanese Shiite cleric has been killed by Qaddafi regime.

"Based on the information discovered in Qaddafi regime's security office, Imam Musa al-Sadr and his friends were martyred by the suppressing forces of Qaddafi," Manee told Fars News Agency at the time.

Al-Sadr, an Iranian-born Lebanese philosopher, spent many years of his life in Lebanon as a religious and political leader before he went missing during a trip to Libya at the invitation of Muammar al-Qaddafi.

In August 1978, al-Sadr departed for Libya with two companions to meet officials of Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi's government. They were never heard from again, and many believe they met with foul play at the hands of Qaddafi.

The Qaddafi-ruled Libya consistently denied responsibility, claiming that al-Sadr and his companions left Libya for Italy in 1978. However, others claimed that al-Sadr was still alive and being kept in a secret jail in Libya.

Rome has persistently said that al-Sadr never arrived in Italy on the alleged flight.

While al-Sadr's family said that he was still alive and remained a prisoner in Libya, Qaddafi's former associate Abdel-Monem Houni claimed in February that al-Sadr had been killed and buried shortly after he was kidnapped.

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