Physique seen in Libyan mortuary might clear up 50-year thriller of vanished spiritual chief

[ad_1] Moe Shreif BBC Eye Investigations

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/f8b5/live/00b8a8f0-7ece-11f0-ab3e-bd52082cd0ae.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/f8b5/live/00b8a8f0-7ece-11f0-ab3e-bd52082cd0ae.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/f8b5/live/00b8a8f0-7ece-11f0-ab3e-bd52082cd0ae.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/f8b5/live/00b8a8f0-7ece-11f0-ab3e-bd52082cd0ae.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/f8b5/live/00b8a8f0-7ece-11f0-ab3e-bd52082cd0ae.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/f8b5/live/00b8a8f0-7ece-11f0-ab3e-bd52082cd0ae.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/f8b5/live/00b8a8f0-7ece-11f0-ab3e-bd52082cd0ae.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/f8b5/live/00b8a8f0-7ece-11f0-ab3e-bd52082cd0ae.jpg.webp" loading="eager" alt="BBC Two identical images of Musa al-Sadr, both black and white but one with a red background and one showing photo identification tracking points. " class="sc-d1200759-0 dvfjxj"/> BBC Musa al-Sadr has been lacking since 1978

Warning: Accommodates photos some could discover upsetting

A pc scientist at a college within the north of England is learning a picture of a corpse - making an attempt to resolve a thriller that has gripped the Center East for practically 50 years.

"That is what he seems to be like now?" asks Bradford College's Prof Hassan Ugail doubtfully.

The digitised photograph is of a decomposed face and it's about to be run via a particular algorithm for our BBC investigation.

The unique photograph was taken by a journalist who noticed the physique in a secret mortuary within the Libyan capital in 2011. He was instructed then that it may very well be charismatic cleric Musa al-Sadr, who vanished in Libya in 1978.

Sadr's disappearance has spawned limitless conspiracy theories. Some individuals consider he was killed, whereas others declare he's nonetheless alive and being held someplace in Libya.

For his ardent followers, his disappearance holds the identical stage of intrigue because the 1963 killing of US President John F Kennedy. Such is the sensitivity of our lengthy investigation that my BBC World Service crew and I even discovered ourselves detained in Libya for a number of days.

Feelings run excessive as a result of Sadr is so revered by his followers - each for his political popularity, having advocated on behalf of his native Lebanon's then-marginalised Shia Muslims, and as a wider spiritual chief.

His followers gave him the title of imam, an uncommon honour for a residing Shia cleric and one bestowed on him in recognition of his work on behalf of the Shia group.

His mysterious disappearance has added to his emotional energy as a result of it echoes the destiny - in line with the most important department of Shia Islam, generally known as Twelvers - of the "hidden" twelfth imam, who disappeared within the ninth Century. Twelver Muslims consider the twelfth imam didn't die and can return on the finish of time to deliver justice to Earth.

And Sadr's disappearance additionally arguably modified the destiny of the world's most politically, religiously and ethnically risky area - the Center East. Some consider the Iranian-Lebanese cleric was on the verge of utilizing his affect to take Iran - and, because of this, the area - in a extra reasonable path when he disappeared on the eve of the Iranian revolution.

So there was loads driving on Bradford College's identification efforts. The journalist who took the photograph instructed us the physique was unusually tall - and Sadr was mentioned to be 1.98m (6ft 5in). However the face had barely any identifiable options.

May we lastly clear up the thriller?

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/68a0/live/b9bedee0-83f7-11f0-84c8-99de564f0440.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/68a0/live/b9bedee0-83f7-11f0-84c8-99de564f0440.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/68a0/live/b9bedee0-83f7-11f0-84c8-99de564f0440.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/68a0/live/b9bedee0-83f7-11f0-84c8-99de564f0440.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/68a0/live/b9bedee0-83f7-11f0-84c8-99de564f0440.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/68a0/live/b9bedee0-83f7-11f0-84c8-99de564f0440.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/68a0/live/b9bedee0-83f7-11f0-84c8-99de564f0440.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/68a0/live/b9bedee0-83f7-11f0-84c8-99de564f0440.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="Imam Sadr Foundation A black and white image of Musa al-Sadr. He has a beard, is wearing a hat and is looking thoughtful. " class="sc-d1200759-0 dvfjxj"/> Imam Sadr Basis Sadr is a revered determine for Shia Muslims

I'm from the village of Yammouneh, excessive within the mountains of Lebanon, the place tales have lengthy been instructed of the horrible winter of 1968 when, after the group was devastated by an avalanche, Musa al-Sadr waded via deep snow to return to the village's support.

The marvel with which the villagers share this story immediately displays simply how mythologised he has grow to be. One instructed me, referring to his recollections as a four-year-old: "It was like a dream… He walked throughout the snow, adopted by all of the villagers… I adopted him simply to the touch the Imam's gown."

Again in 1968, Sadr wasn't well-known in an remoted village like Yammouneh, however he was slowly garnering a nationwide popularity. By the tip of that decade he had grow to be a serious determine in Lebanon, identified for advocating for interfaith dialogue and nationwide unity.

His standing was mirrored within the honorary title "imam" bestowed on him by his followers. In 1974, Sadr launched the Motion of the Disadvantaged, a social and political organisation which referred to as for proportional illustration for the Shia and social and financial emancipation for the poor, no matter their faith. So decided was he to keep away from sectarianism that he even gave sermons in Christian church buildings.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/c031/live/4e19ffd0-791b-11f0-8071-1788c7e8ae0e.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/c031/live/4e19ffd0-791b-11f0-8071-1788c7e8ae0e.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/c031/live/4e19ffd0-791b-11f0-8071-1788c7e8ae0e.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/c031/live/4e19ffd0-791b-11f0-8071-1788c7e8ae0e.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/c031/live/4e19ffd0-791b-11f0-8071-1788c7e8ae0e.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/c031/live/4e19ffd0-791b-11f0-8071-1788c7e8ae0e.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/c031/live/4e19ffd0-791b-11f0-8071-1788c7e8ae0e.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/c031/live/4e19ffd0-791b-11f0-8071-1788c7e8ae0e.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="Imam Sadr Foundation Sadr, similing, leans towards a man in white wearing glasses who is grasping both of Sadr's hands." class="sc-d1200759-0 dvfjxj"/> Imam Sadr Basis Sadr was identified for his multi-faith enchantment

On 25 August 1978, Sadr flew to Libya, invited to satisfy the nation's then chief Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.

Three years earlier, Lebanon had erupted into civil conflict. Palestinian fighters grew to become concerned within the sectarian battle, with many based mostly in Lebanon's south, the place most of Sadr's followers lived. The Palestinians had begun exchanging fireplace with Israel throughout the border, and Sadr needed Gaddafi, who supported the Palestinians, to intervene to maintain Lebanon's civilians secure.

On 31 August, after six days spent ready for a gathering with Gaddafi, Sadr was seen being pushed away from a Tripoli lodge in a Libyan authorities automobile.

He was by no means seen once more.

Gaddafi's safety forces later claimed he had left for Rome, although this was proved false by the investigations that adopted.

Impartial journalism was inconceivable in Gaddafi's Libya. However in 2011, when Libyans rose in opposition to him in the course of the Arab Spring, the door of probity opened a crack.

Kassem Hamadé, a Lebanese-Swedish reporter who coated the rebellion, was instructed a couple of secret mortuary in Tripoli that, a supply had mentioned, would possibly include the stays of Sadr.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/bd9e/live/7f35dd90-83f8-11f0-9cf6-cbf3e73ce2b9.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/bd9e/live/7f35dd90-83f8-11f0-9cf6-cbf3e73ce2b9.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/bd9e/live/7f35dd90-83f8-11f0-9cf6-cbf3e73ce2b9.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/bd9e/live/7f35dd90-83f8-11f0-9cf6-cbf3e73ce2b9.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/bd9e/live/7f35dd90-83f8-11f0-9cf6-cbf3e73ce2b9.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/bd9e/live/7f35dd90-83f8-11f0-9cf6-cbf3e73ce2b9.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/bd9e/live/7f35dd90-83f8-11f0-9cf6-cbf3e73ce2b9.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/bd9e/live/7f35dd90-83f8-11f0-9cf6-cbf3e73ce2b9.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="Kassem Hamadé leans towards the camera in animated conversation. He has dark eyes and slightly greying short brown hair. He is wearing a dark jacket and grey shirt." class="sc-d1200759-0 dvfjxj"/> In 2011, reporter Kassem Hamadé went to Libya the place he acquired a tip-off about Sadr

There have been 17 our bodies refrigerated within the room he was proven - one was of a kid, the remaining had been all grownup males. Kassem was instructed the our bodies had been lifeless for about three many years - which might match with Sadr's timeline. Just one corpse resembled Sadr.

Kassem instructed me: "This one drawer, [the mortuary staff member] opens it, he reveals the corpse, and two issues struck me instantly."

Firstly, Kassem mentioned, the look of the physique's face, pores and skin color and hair nonetheless resembled Sadr's, regardless of the passage of time.

And secondly, he mentioned, the particular person had been executed.

Or at the least that was Kassem's assumption, based mostly on the cranium. It seemed as if it had both suffered a heavy blow to the brow or been pierced by a bullet above the left eye.

However how might we all know for positive this was Sadr?

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/ea73/live/24459c70-7f6d-11f0-ab3e-bd52082cd0ae.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/ea73/live/24459c70-7f6d-11f0-ab3e-bd52082cd0ae.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/ea73/live/24459c70-7f6d-11f0-ab3e-bd52082cd0ae.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/ea73/live/24459c70-7f6d-11f0-ab3e-bd52082cd0ae.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/ea73/live/24459c70-7f6d-11f0-ab3e-bd52082cd0ae.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/ea73/live/24459c70-7f6d-11f0-ab3e-bd52082cd0ae.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/ea73/live/24459c70-7f6d-11f0-ab3e-bd52082cd0ae.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/ea73/live/24459c70-7f6d-11f0-ab3e-bd52082cd0ae.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="Kassem Hamadé The body shown to Kassem in a Libyan mortuary - a mortuary attendant, wearing navy and with dark eyes and hair, is looking towards the camera sliding a body out of a mortuary drawer. " class="sc-d1200759-0 dvfjxj"/> Kassem Hamadé A mortuary attendant (pictured) confirmed the physique to Kassem Hamadé

So we took the photograph that Kassem had taken within the mortuary to a crew at Bradford College which, for the previous 20 years, has been creating a novel algorithm referred to as Deep Face Recognition. It identifies complicated similarities between photographs, and has been proven to be extraordinarily dependable in checks, even on imperfect photos.

Prof Ugail, who leads the crew, agreed to check the picture from the mortuary with 4 photographs of Sadr at totally different phases of his life. The software program would then give the mortuary picture an general rating out of 100 - the upper the quantity, the extra doubtless it was to be both the identical particular person, or a member of the family.

If the picture scored under 50, the particular person was most likely unrelated to Sadr. Between 60 and 70 meant it was him or an in depth relative. Seventy or larger could be a direct match.

The photograph scored within the 60s - a "excessive chance" it was Sadr, Prof Ugail instructed us.

To check this conclusion, the professor used his similar algorithm to check the photograph with six members of Sadr's household, after which with 100 random photos of Center Japanese males who all resembled him not directly.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/1699/live/0ce08e10-84b7-11f0-b98d-d308c56c1729.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/1699/live/0ce08e10-84b7-11f0-b98d-d308c56c1729.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/1699/live/0ce08e10-84b7-11f0-b98d-d308c56c1729.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/1699/live/0ce08e10-84b7-11f0-b98d-d308c56c1729.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/1699/live/0ce08e10-84b7-11f0-b98d-d308c56c1729.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/1699/live/0ce08e10-84b7-11f0-b98d-d308c56c1729.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/1699/live/0ce08e10-84b7-11f0-b98d-d308c56c1729.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/1699/live/0ce08e10-84b7-11f0-b98d-d308c56c1729.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="A photo on the left of the body in the mortuary and on the right photos of Sadr's family members plus photos of random Middle Eastern men to compare the mortuary photo with. A scale showing numbers divides the two halves of the image" class="sc-d1200759-0 dvfjxj"/> The photograph of the physique within the mortuary was in contrast with Sadr household photographs and different footage of random males unrelated to Sadr

The household photographs scored significantly better than the random faces. However the most effective outcome remained the comparability between the mortuary picture and the pictures of Sadr alive.

It confirmed there was a robust chance that Kassem had seen Sadr's physique. And the actual fact he discovered it with a broken cranium prompt that, possibly, Sadr had been killed.

In March 2023, some 4 years after I first got here throughout Kassem's photograph, we had been capable of journey to Libya to speak to attainable witnesses and to search for the physique ourselves. We had at all times identified the story was delicate besides, we had been stunned by the Libyan response.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/4dd7/live/723ba0e0-7f5a-11f0-ab3e-bd52082cd0ae.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/4dd7/live/723ba0e0-7f5a-11f0-ab3e-bd52082cd0ae.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/4dd7/live/723ba0e0-7f5a-11f0-ab3e-bd52082cd0ae.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/4dd7/live/723ba0e0-7f5a-11f0-ab3e-bd52082cd0ae.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/4dd7/live/723ba0e0-7f5a-11f0-ab3e-bd52082cd0ae.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/4dd7/live/723ba0e0-7f5a-11f0-ab3e-bd52082cd0ae.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/4dd7/live/723ba0e0-7f5a-11f0-ab3e-bd52082cd0ae.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/4dd7/live/723ba0e0-7f5a-11f0-ab3e-bd52082cd0ae.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="Kassem points a finger in thought as he talks to Moe steepling his fingers in the street in Tripoli. They are both wearing navy blue tops and Moe has glasses, a slight beard and a grey cap. The walls behind them are of a dusty sand colour." class="sc-d1200759-0 dvfjxj"/> Kassem (r) tries to recall the situation of the key mortuary as he strolls the Tripoli streets in dialog with Moe (l)

We had been on the second day of our deployment in Tripoli, on the lookout for the key mortuary. Kassem, who was accompanying the BBC crew, could not keep in mind the identify of the world he had visited in 2011, besides that it had been close to a hospital.

We had been instructed there was a hospital inside strolling distance and headed off to search out it.

All of a sudden, Kassem mentioned: "That is it. I am positive of it. That is the constructing that contained the morgue."

The constructing's exterior was the very last thing we had been capable of movie. We sought permission to movie inside, however our permits had been cancelled. The subsequent day, a gaggle of unidentified males - who we might later be taught had been Libya intelligence service officers - seized us with out clarification.

We had been taken to a jail run by Libyan intelligence, the place we had been held in solitary confinement, and accused of spying. We had been blindfolded, repeatedly interrogated, and instructed that no-one might assist us. Our captors mentioned we might be there for many years.

We spent a traumatic six days in detention. Lastly, after strain from the BBC and the UK authorities, we had been launched and deported.

It was disturbing to really feel we had grow to be a part of the story. Libya continues to be divided into two rival administrations with competing militia, and workers on the jail had indicated Libyan intelligence was being run by former Gaddafi loyalists who wouldn't need the BBC investigating Sadr's disappearance.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/91a8/live/6f3c10c0-7f3f-11f0-a34f-318be3fb0481.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/91a8/live/6f3c10c0-7f3f-11f0-a34f-318be3fb0481.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/91a8/live/6f3c10c0-7f3f-11f0-a34f-318be3fb0481.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/91a8/live/6f3c10c0-7f3f-11f0-a34f-318be3fb0481.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/91a8/live/6f3c10c0-7f3f-11f0-a34f-318be3fb0481.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/91a8/live/6f3c10c0-7f3f-11f0-a34f-318be3fb0481.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/91a8/live/6f3c10c0-7f3f-11f0-a34f-318be3fb0481.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/91a8/live/6f3c10c0-7f3f-11f0-a34f-318be3fb0481.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="Getty Images A demonstrator in a white checked shirt waves a black flag as others carry a portrait of Ayatollah Khomeini, religious leader in exile on 8 September 1978 during a demonstration of Khomeini's supporters in the streets of Tehran against the Shah" class="sc-d1200759-0 dvfjxj"/> Getty Photos A protest in the course of the Iranian Revolution in September 1978, simply days after Sadr went lacking. Analysts consider Sadr might have modified the revolution's course

Some individuals have lengthy believed Sadr was murdered.

Dr Hussein Kenaan, previously a Lebanese tutorial working within the US, says he visited the State Division in Washington the week Sadr disappeared in 1978 and was instructed it had acquired a report that he had been killed.

This account is backed up by the previous Libyan Minister of Justice, Mustafa Abdel Jalil, who instructed Kassem in 2011: "The second or third day, they solid his papers, that he will Italy. And so they killed him inside Libyan prisons."

He added: "Gaddafi has the primary and the final phrase in all choices."

So if Gaddafi did order Sadr's killing, then why?

One principle, says Iran skilled Andrew Cooper, is that Gaddafi was influenced by Iranian hardliners, alarmed that Sadr was about to hinder their targets for the Iranian Revolution.

Sadr supported many Iranian revolutionaries who needed an finish to then-ruler Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi's regime. However his reasonable imaginative and prescient of Iran strongly differed from the concepts of Islamic hardline revolutionaries and was disliked and even resented by them.

Every week earlier than his disappearance, in line with Cooper, Sadr had written to the Shah providing help.

Cooper interviewed Parviz Sabeti, a former director of counter espionage for the Shah's secret police, as a part of his analysis for a biography of the Shah. Sabeti instructed him that Sadr's letter supplied to assist defuse the ability of Islamic hardliners by working in direction of introducing coverage modifications that may enchantment to extra reasonable parts of the opposition.

A former Lebanese ambassador to Iran confirms the existence of Sadr's letter. Khalil al-Khalil instructed us he understands it requested a gathering with the Shah scheduled for 7 September 1978.

Cooper believes this data was leaked to Iranian hardline revolutionaries.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/cb0b/live/238d5780-7f42-11f0-83cc-c5da98c419b8.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/cb0b/live/238d5780-7f42-11f0-83cc-c5da98c419b8.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/cb0b/live/238d5780-7f42-11f0-83cc-c5da98c419b8.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/cb0b/live/238d5780-7f42-11f0-83cc-c5da98c419b8.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/cb0b/live/238d5780-7f42-11f0-83cc-c5da98c419b8.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/cb0b/live/238d5780-7f42-11f0-83cc-c5da98c419b8.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/cb0b/live/238d5780-7f42-11f0-83cc-c5da98c419b8.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/cb0b/live/238d5780-7f42-11f0-83cc-c5da98c419b8.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="Women in green caps, darks scarves and khaki uniforms hold framed photos of Musa al-Sadr in a demonstration on the anniversary of his disappearance last year" class="sc-d1200759-0 dvfjxj"/> The Amal get together in Lebanon consider Sadr continues to be alive and most years maintain a rally on the anniversary of his disappearance calling for his launch

However the Iranians aren't the one individuals who may need needed Sadr lifeless.

Gaddafi had been militarily supporting Palestinian fighters attacking Israel from southern Lebanon - and Sadr is quoted in interviews from the time explaining his makes an attempt to discover a answer with the Palestine Liberation Organisation [PLO].

The PLO could have believed Sadr, fearing they had been endangering the Lebanese inhabitants, may need satisfied Gaddafi to rein them in.

Whereas there are lots of who consider Sadr to be lifeless, others are adamant he's nonetheless alive.

These embrace the organisation Sadr based within the Nineteen Seventies, now a strong political get together of the Lebanese Shia referred to as Amal.

The top of Amal - and parliamentary Speaker - Nabih Berri, maintains there isn't any proof Sadr, who would now be 97, has died. However there had been a chance to show whether or not he had or not.

Again in 2011 when Kassem visited the key mortuary, he had not solely photographed the physique.

He had additionally managed to drag out some hair follicles, with a view to them being utilized in a DNA take a look at. He had given them to senior officers in Berri's workplace so they might have them analysed.

A match with a member of the Sadr household would show past doubt whether or not the physique was that of Musa sl-Sadr. Nonetheless, Berri's workplace by no means obtained again to Kassem.

Choose Hassan al-Shami, one of many officers appointed by Lebanon's authorities to analyze Sadr's disappearance, says Amal instructed him the follicle pattern had been misplaced due to a "technical error".

We offered our facial recognition outcomes to Sadr's son Sayyed Sadreddine Sadr. He introduced senior Amal official Hajj Samih Haidous and Choose al-Shami to our assembly.

All of them mentioned they didn't consider our findings.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/a0b1/live/5c36a100-791a-11f0-8071-1788c7e8ae0e.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/a0b1/live/5c36a100-791a-11f0-8071-1788c7e8ae0e.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/a0b1/live/5c36a100-791a-11f0-8071-1788c7e8ae0e.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/a0b1/live/5c36a100-791a-11f0-8071-1788c7e8ae0e.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/a0b1/live/5c36a100-791a-11f0-8071-1788c7e8ae0e.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/a0b1/live/5c36a100-791a-11f0-8071-1788c7e8ae0e.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/a0b1/live/5c36a100-791a-11f0-8071-1788c7e8ae0e.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/a0b1/live/5c36a100-791a-11f0-8071-1788c7e8ae0e.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="Imam Sadr Foundation A black and white image of Musa al-Sadr. He has a beard, is wearing a hat and is looking thoughtful. There are trees and buildings in the background." class="sc-d1200759-0 dvfjxj"/> Imam Sadr Basis Sadr based the Amal political get together within the Nineteen Seventies

Sadreddine mentioned it was "evident" from the look of the physique within the photograph that it was not his father. He added that it additionally "contradicts the data we've got after this date [2011, the year the photo was taken]", that he's nonetheless alive, held in a Libyan jail.

The BBC has discovered no proof to assist this view.

However throughout our investigation it grew to become clear to us that the idea Sadr continues to be alive holds nice energy as a unifying creed for a lot of Lebanese Shia. Each 31 August, Amal marks the anniversary of his disappearance.

We repeatedly approached Berri's workplace for an interview, and requested for touch upon our findings. It didn't reply.

The BBC additionally requested the Libyan authorities to touch upon our investigation and to elucidate why the BBC crew was seized by the Libyan intelligence service. We acquired no response.

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