USA: The demand of the Lebanese Security Service to delete their part in the kidnapping and torture of a SDF officer was rejected

The head of the security service in Lebanon demanded that the United States delete all mention of him and the organization in the lawsuit of the family of the former officer, Amr Fakhuri, but he refused.

According to the lawsuit, Iran, with the help of its arms in Lebanon, kidnapped, tortured and caused the death of Fakhuri.

"Lebanon should be concerned that the role they played has been revealed"

Yoav Itiel

20/08/2022

Saturday, August 20, 2022, 05:07 Updated: 21:05

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Infected with the Epstein-Barr bacterium associated with lymphoma cancer.

Amr Elias Al-Fakhuri (photo: official website, Amr Fakhuri Foundation)

A federal court in the United States this week rejected the demand of the head of the General Security Service in Lebanon to delete mention of him and his organization from the lawsuit filed by the family of a South Lebanese army officer, Amr Elias al-Fakhuri.

The family of Al-Fakhuri, who immigrated to the United States and became a naturalized citizen there, is suing Iran for his abduction, his illegal detention, the torture he underwent, the deterioration of his health and ultimately his death from cancer in May 2020, and he is 57 years old. This is a few months after he was released and returned to the United States thanks to an intervention US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

His family claims that he was kidnapped by the Lebanese government, which is supported by Hezbollah, and is used as an instrument of Iran.

Fakhuri, went with his family on vacation in Lebanon in 2019, thanks to an amnesty law that allows former Lebanese who served in the SDF to return without fear of prosecution. Also, before the vacation, Fakhuri inquired about the issue, and received promises that no harm would be done to him. According to the family, with Upon landing he was required to hand over his new American passport "for inspection", and when he arrived a week later to pick it up, he was arrested, tortured and forced to sign false statements, which were later used to keep him in detention for seven months.

After that, a court claimed that the statute of limitations generally applies to the acts that were allegedly attributed to him, when he served as a commander in Al-Khyam prison of the South Lebanese army in the 80's and 90's.

According to the family, Fakhuri arrived on vacation in Lebanon as a healthy person and was released from detention after losing 36 kilograms of his weight, partly because he contracted the Epstein-Barr bacterium associated with lymphoma cancer, apparently as a result of continuous violence and poor sanitary conditions.

It is also claimed that during his arrest Fahori underwent "psychological and physical torture", during which he was beaten by ten men, was forced to watch security personnel beat prisoners, some as young as 14, and was threatened with execution.

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The statute of limitations applies to the acts allegedly attributed to him.

The court's decision to release Amr Elias al-Fakhuri (photo: official website, courtesy of the prosecution)

"It is clear that the prosecution's claims regarding Fakhuri's arrest and the connection between Iran, Hezbollah and Lebanon upset the security services and Lebanon to such an extent that they defined them as scandalous," stated Judge John Bates, in the Federal Court of the District of Columbia.

"Although the court appreciates that your position is that most of the claims are idle claims, and it is even possible that the court will decide one day, this does not mean that they should be deleted," he added.

The Lebanese Security Service claims that the prosecution falsely accuses it of the serious crimes committed according to the prosecution, "with the help of terrorist organizations or their instruction".

According to the Lebanese Shin Bet, he held Fakhori for only half a day, before being transferred to other authorities. The lawyers representing the organization claim that "most of the allegations are intended to damage the reputation of the security services and its head, General Abbas Ebrahim."

However, Judge Bates stated that the family's claims against the Lebanese security service "are not irrelevant", and that he will not split the lawsuit between separate Lebanese authorities, when the only defendant in the case is Iran in general.

He left the lawsuit unchanged, while at the same time also stating that he would not allow the addition of Lebanon as a defendant in the case, as requested by the lawyers representing the family, as a response to the organization's request in the case.

The court made it clear that only countries that support terrorism can be sued, and in the US Lebanon is not defined as such. Iran itself has not yet responded to the statement of claim filed in May of last year.

Lawyer David Lin, who represents the Lebanese security services, said in a statement: "We are considering all options, including the possibility of appealing on the court's decision or the filing of a defamation lawsuit." He further added that "our client will continue to protect his reputation against unfounded attacks."

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To the full article

"Most of the allegations are intended to damage the reputation of General Abbas Ibrahim."

Abbas Ebrahim (photo: official website, .)

On the other hand, in response on behalf of the family, Zoya, Fakhuri's daughter, said that the family is encouraged by the court's decision and is happy to continue with their lawsuit as they filed it.

"The judge correctly ruled that our claims about the connections of Lebanon's general security services with Iran and Hezbollah touch the factual heart of the case and that it should be allowed to be discussed," Lawalla said!

Attorney Bob (Robert) Tolchin, who represents Ezbon al-Fakhuri and is handling the prosecution. According to him, during his 30-year career, he has not seen such a request from a non-party in the case. "Lebanese intelligence chief Abbas Ibrahim tried very hard to hide the involvement of his agency and trample our case," he said, "but the court did not accept it.

We fully understand why Ibrahim and Lebanon should be concerned that this civil proceeding will reveal the role played by his people in the illegal torture and detention." He further added, "We want the US Department of Justice to investigate the involvement of the Lebanese security services in the illegal detention and torture of an American citizen.

The restaurant will no longer open

Al-Fakhuri served in the South Lebanese Army (SDF) between 1983 and 2000 and in this framework also spent many years in the Al-Khyam detention facility. His family claims that his work was only logistical, and that he was responsible for tasks such as "supplying food and essential supplies ". In 2000, with the withdrawal of the IDF from Lebanon, like many SDF families, the family fled to Israel.

In 2001, the family immigrated to the United States, and has lived in the New England area ever since. Al-Fakhuri opened a restaurant called "Little Lebanon" in the city of Dover, in the state of New Hampshire. On the lot behind it, he began building an apartment building. The restaurant, which was temporarily closed, for the first time, when he went on vacation in Lebanon, has remained closed ever since and will not open again, as per his pre-death commandment.

In the lawsuit against Iran filed by attorney Bob Tolchin on behalf of Al-Fakhuri's estate, it is claimed that since Israel's withdrawal, Hezbollah has become the ruling force in Lebanon and that "important political decisions in Lebanon, including the appointment of its president and prime minister, require Hezbollah's consent and approval." According to the lawsuit, Hezbollah was able to establish such a level of dominance with the help of significant aid from Iran, and therefore Iran is using Argan to achieve its goals.

In 2011, the Lebanese parliament passed an amnesty law that allows former Lebanese who served on the side to return without fear of prosecution.

After Fakhuri became a naturalized citizen in the United States in 2019, he began to examine the possibility of returning to Lebanon for a visit.

He received assurances from the US State Department and the Lebanese government that he and his family would be able to visit Lebanon safely, and on September 4, 2019, he arrived with his wife and two of his daughters.

But during this vacation he was arrested.

In March 2020, Al-Fakhuri was transferred from the military hospital to the United States Embassy in Beirut.

The Lebanese Supreme Court then announced that it was dropping the charges against him.

A helicopter transferred him from the American Embassy to a vessel of the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean and from there on March 19, home to the United States.

In June 2020, the United States released from prison Kassim Tajdin, a Lebanese citizen who was extradited to the United States from Belgium, due to his role in financing Hezbollah's terrorist activities.

According to the lawsuit, the release was in exchange for buying al-Fakhuri's freedom.

"Al-Fakhuri returned to the United States a broken man," claims the lawsuit, "he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, and his cancer was exacerbated by an autoimmune disease and he died in August 2020."

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