The household of Amer Fakhoury has spent the previous 4 years pursuing justice and searching for accountability for his demise after he handed away from stage 4 most cancers in 2020, months after he was free of jail in Lebanon.
Now, his 4 daughters are giving a first-hand account of his detainment and the harrowing rescue operation to carry him again dwelling to the US in a soon-to-be-released e book, “Silenced in Beirut: American Businessman Amer Fakhour’s Six-Month Ordeal as a Hostage In Lebanon.”
Guila and Zoya Fakhoury spoke with Fox Information Digital in regards to the e book forward of its launch on Sept. 12, the fifth-year anniversary of their father’s detainment in Beirut by the Common Directorate of Common Safety, Lebanon’s authorities intelligence company.
New Hampshire household desires justice from Iran for his or her late father’s unlawful imprisonment in Lebanon. (Fakhoury Household)
“We wanted this book to just capture the injustice he faced, who was involved in his illegal detention, who are the big players [and] what the U.S. government did to bring him back home,” mentioned Zoya.
“This story could be very important, since you truly get to see firsthand what Hezbollah is doing in Lebanon and what it is doing to its individuals and the way America is part of that as properly.”
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Fakhoury returned to his native Lebanon together with his spouse, Micheline, for the primary time in almost 20 years to see household however was detained quickly after his arrival amid allegations from a Hezbollah-backed newspaper that he was the “Butcher of Khiam,” who tortured prisoners on the now defunct jail within the Nineteen Nineties.
Hezbollah members salute and lift the group’s yellow flags through the funeral of fallen fighters who had been killed in an Israeli strike on their autos, in Shehabiya in south Lebanon on April 17. (AFP through Getty Pictures)
The Fakhoury household vehemently denied the claims, saying their father solely labored as a logistics officer with the South Lebanon Military (SLA), a Christian-dominated, Israeli-backed militia that was disbanded after Israel withdrew from the nation in 2000.
Fakhoury fled Lebanon after receiving threats from Hezbollah after the SLA collapsed, staying in Nahariya, a seaside metropolis in Israel near the Lebanese border, for just a few months earlier than immigrating to the US.
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His household says the Lebanese authorities revealed an inventory in 2016 indicating that Fakhoury had no excellent fees previous to his 2019 detainment, and a 2018 amnesty positioned their father on an inventory of SLA members not related to operating Khiam jail.
Whereas Fakhoury was detained in Beirut, he was compelled to signal a paper saying he held Israeli citizenship and was an Israeli spy, each baseless accusations, in keeping with his household.
Amer Fakhoury immigrated to the US within the early 2000s after fleeing Lebanon.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., who labored intently with the household, mentioned in a 2020 press launch {that a} Lebanese navy court docket had charged Fakhoury with “unsubstantiated crimes that carry a punishment of death without producing any material evidence to back these allegations.”
The Dover, N.H., restaurant proprietor was overwhelmed, tortured and compelled to remain in unsanitary situations with no daylight or bathroom, in keeping with his household. They consider he acquired lymphoma from the Epstein-Barr virus, which he probably obtained from poor jail situations.
“We really wanted to honor [Amer’s] legacy and to tell the world about this amazing father, great husband, and what happened to him was not fair. And someone needs to be held accountable,” mentioned Guila.
“We lost our father, my kids cannot see their granddad, my mom, you know, he was her soulmate, 37 years of marriage. So, we lost a great man, and to this day, we don’t have accountability. So through this book, we want everyone to read his story, read about him, read about what happened to him.”
The Fakhoury household fled Lebanon as Hezbollah took over. They element the detainment of their father, Amer, whereas on a household trip in his native nation in 2019. ((Fox Information Digital/ Fakhoury Household))
Guila added that her father advocated for democracy in Lebanon, spoke out in opposition to Hezbollah and was energetic within the Republican Get together.
“He was an American citizen. He was an advocate. He was in the Republican Party. He had pictures on his Facebook, [he was] close to politics in America. . . . I think this is the reason why they illegally detained him and put all these charges on him, knowing that none of it is true,” she advised Fox Information Digital.
“I do think, touching on his nervousness, at the end of the day, as much reassurance you can get from a government, I think deep down, he knew that Hezbollah was still in Lebanon, and I think that was his fear because he always. . . . You hear stories of Hezbollah being involved in kidnap cases. So, I think that was always in the back of his mind,” mentioned Zoya.
The New York Instances reported that Trump administration officers believed that Fakhoury’s arrest was directed by Hezbollah.
Former President Trump and his administration helped safe the discharge of New Hampshire businessman Amer Fakhoury. The 2 met a number of years earlier than that at a Trump marketing campaign occasion within the New Hampshire space. (Fakhoury Household)
Fakhoury was evacuated from the rooftop of the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon on a U.S. Air Power V-22 Osprey after Senator Shaheen and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, proposed bipartisan sanctions in opposition to Lebanese officers concerned within the detention of U.S. residents.
Seven months after his preliminary detainment and 75 kilos lighter, Fakhoury returned dwelling and was handled on the Dana-Farber Most cancers Institute in Boston, the place he handed away 5 months later.
“What we’re still lacking [from] our U.S. government is accountability. So, unfortunately, it’s been four years that we’ve [been] trying to hold accountable Lebanese officials and the Lebanese government for the killing of an American citizen,” Guila advised Fox Information Digital.
Guila (proper) and Zoya (left) Fakhoury open up in regards to the demise and detainment of their father, Amer.
“It’s been a very difficult journey. I think we’re blessed to have our family, honestly, because that’s where we both — we all get energy from each other. When one of us is feeling down, we feed off one another’s energy. And I think that’s what kept us going strong, because we didn’t really have a mourning period, to be honest with you, the minute my father died, we wanted to get to work, because we know the magnitude of his case,” mentioned Zoya. “We know what he endured and just the injustice he faced.”
The Fakhourys began the Amer Fakhoury Basis in honor of the late patriarch to advocate for the households of different detained People, search accountability from international governments concerned within the detention of U.S. residents and pursue coverage modifications.
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The e book is offered on the inspiration’s web site.
