[ad_1]
A former ice cream vendor has been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of two Irish peacekeepers in southern Lebanon 40 years ago.
The Lebanese military court convicted Mahmoud Bazzi (76) of the murders of Pte Thomas Barrett, from Cork, and Pte Derek Smallhorne, from Dublin, on April 18, 1980.
Subsequently, the court reduced the life sentence to 15 years in prison, with forced labor.
Bazzi was deported to Lebanon from the United States five years ago and has been in court ever since.
The two slain soldiers and their partner, Pte John O’Mahony, were in the final week of a six-month tour of duty with Unifil (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) when they were dispatched as part of a group to provide supplies. to a post near the border with Israel.
They were accompanied by an American officer, a French officer and two journalists when they were intercepted by a gang of the Israeli-controlled South Lebanon Army, which was founded and led by the greatest renegade, Saad Hadaad.
The incident took place less than two weeks after the SLA attacked Irish troops in the village of At Tiri.
The Irish called for Dutch and Fijian reinforcements and during the battle two peacekeepers, Pte Stephen Griffin, from Galway and a Fijian, were killed.
A member of the SLA, Massoud Bazzi, Mahmoud Bazzi’s brother, also died.
During the April 18 incident, the three Irish peacekeepers were singled out by an armed man, who had been yelling “my brother, my brother” and another man.
The Irish were separated from the others and the gunman opened fire, seriously wounding Pte O’Mahony.
The other two peacekeepers tried to escape but were captured by the SLA and taken away in a car.
The remaining members of the Unifil group took Pte O’Mahony to a vehicle and drove to safety.
The bodies of Ptes Barrett and Smallhorne were later found nearby. They had been tortured and executed.
Shortly after the killings, Mahmoud Bazzi appeared on Lebanese television and claimed that he was responsible for the shooting to avenge the death of his brother.
He later retracted his statements and claimed that his commander had forced him to claim responsibility.
After a United Nations investigation, Bazzi was found to be in the United States, where he had settled in Dearborn, Michigan, and was working as an ice cream van driver.
The Dublin government continued to show great interest in the case and remained in contact with the UN and the authorities in Lebanon and the United States.
When Bazzi applied for US citizenship in 2013, the investigation escalated and he was arrested for “administrative immigration violations” by federal agents at his home in Dearborn after it was alleged that he had entered the country on a false passport.
Bazzi confessed to immigration fraud and agreed to be deported to Lebanon.
In 2018, Bazzi was also found guilty of collaboration with Israel and received a five-year prison sentence with hard labor.
Online editors
[ad_2]