DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (CNN) — The Lebanese government has denied any contact between Prime Minister Najib Mikati and his Libyan counterpart, Abdel Hamid al-Tabaiba, regarding the case of Hannibal, the son of Libyan Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, who is being held in Lebanon. For nearly a decade.

In a statement issued by the media office of the Lebanese Prime Minister, “The news is being spread through some social websites and WhatsApp that the head of the Libyan unity government, Abdel Hamid al-Tabaiba, has been in contact with the leader. of the Government regarding the Hannibal Gaddafi affair.”

The statement added: “It is important for the media office to clarify that President Mikati has no contact with any Libyan party and that Mr. Gaddafi’s file is in the hands of the competent judiciary and its continuity. The file is being carried out through efficient judicial procedures. The government of the president also expresses Lebanon’s interest in better relations with the Libyan people. Clarification required.

Earlier, the Lebanese Prime Minister appeared with a young Libyan living in Italy during a live broadcast via Tik Tok. Abdul Hamid al-Tabaiba said Hannibal Gaddafi had “slacked” and was not in the custody of the Lebanese government. Al-Tabaiba said he contacted the Lebanese Prime Minister in this regard.

Libya’s Presidential Council announced last Wednesday that it would set up a committee headed by Justice Minister Halima Abdel Rahman in the “National Unity” government to follow up on the Hannibal file.

It comes after the defense team of a Libyan colonel’s son announced an open hunger strike to protest his detention without trial.

Hannibal has been detained in Lebanon since 2015 because he allegedly withheld information about the disappearance of Musa al-Sadr, the founder of the Supreme Islamic Shiite Council, during a visit to Libya in August 1978.