Article Author:
Associated Press
Cathy McCormack
Concord, New Hampshire (AP) — Relatives of Lebanese-American man plead guilty to alleged kidnapping and torture by Lebanese security services. Before he died in the United States, he now rejected an attempt by a judge to dismiss the agency's allegations.
died in the United States at the age of 57 from stage 4 lymphoma. His family suffered illness and other serious injuries while he was imprisoned while visiting Lebanon on decades of murder and torture charges, amid a lawsuit filed against Iran in Washington last year.
Lawyers representing Lebanon's General Security Directorate have sought to intervene in wrongful death lawsuits to set aside allegations against them. was Lebanon is not named as a defendant.
Lebanon's security services said in a filing that the case accused Lebanon and its chief of "serious crimes of kidnapping, torture and murder at the direction or assistance of an alleged terrorist organization." claimed to be falsely accused.
A federal judge dismissed the request in an order Monday.
He argued that Fakhoury's detention and the family's allegations about ties between Iran, Lebanon, and Hezbollah (Lebanon's dominant political and militant force) were used by the family as Iran's "instruments." said it was explained in the lawsuit.
But he said the allegation "is not irrelevant to the plaintiff's case against Iran, but is at the heart of the plaintiff's complaint."
Families are encouraged to proceed with the case.
"We are pleased that the complaint against the perpetrators will proceed as filed," Zoya Fakhoury, one of Amer Fakhoury's four daughters, said in a family statement on Tuesday.
"We tried hard to cover up his agency's involvement and quell our lawsuit, but the court wouldn't allow it," the security chief said. Attorney Robert Tolchin said in a statement. We are considering all options, including the possibilities."
He said, "Our clients continue to defend their reputation against baseless attacks."
Iran has yet to respond to the lawsuit. . After the Islamic Revolution of 1979 and the US Embassy hostage crisis, it has ignored other lawsuits filed in US courts.
His Fakhoury's imprisonment in Lebanon came in September 2019, not long after he became an American citizen. Fakhoury, the New Hampshire restaurateur, is vacationing in his home country for the first time in nearly 20 years. A week after he arrived, he was imprisoned and his passport confiscated, his family said.
The day before he was detained, an article in a newspaper close to his Hezbollah-backed Shiite group accused him of involvement in the torture and murder of inmates in an Israeli-run prison. posted. He assisted the Lebanese militia during the Israeli occupation of Lebanon 20 years ago. Fakhoury was a member of the South Lebanese Army.
The article called him the "butcher" of Kiam Detention Center, which is notorious for human rights violations. Fakhoury's family said Fakhoury worked at the prison as a member of the militia, but he was a clerk with little contact with inmates. When Israel withdrew from Lebanon in his 2000, Fakhoury, like many other militia members, left the country out of fear of retribution. He arrived in the US in his 2001.
As early as 2018, Fakhoury sought assurances from the US State Department and the Lebanese government that he would be free to visit Lebanon. His family said they were told there were no charges against him in Lebanon and no legal problems that might prevent him from returning.
When he returned to Lebanon, Fakhoury He was held for five months before being formally charged, his family said. By that time, he had lost more than 60 pounds and had serious health problems, including lymphoma and broken ribs.
Ultimately, the Lebanese Supreme Court dropped his charges against Fakhoury. He returned to the United States on March 19, 2020 on a United States Marine Corps Osprey aircraft. He died five months later.