KENNY WELCOMES PROGRESS ON 1980 MURDER OF TWO IRISH SOLDIERS IN LEBANON

Posted on July 16, 2014 5:17 PM   |   Permanent Link   

Sean Kenny, the Dublin Bay North Labour TD and member of the Oireachtas Committee on Justice and Defence, has welcomed news of the detention of an individual alleged to have murdered two Irish soldiers serving as UN Peacekeepers in the Lebanon in 1980.

"I welcome the news that U.S. federal agents have arrested Mahmoud Bazzi in the State of Michigan for immigration violations. I understand that the individual concerned will be kept in custody while proceedings to remove him from the United States are processed."

"The background to this case is that on the 18th of April, 1980, Private Thomas Barrett and Private Derek Smallhorne were murdered and one soldier, Private John O'Mahony, was seriously injured in an incident in Lebanon. The three soldiers were serving as United Nations Peacekeepers at the time with United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) forces. At the village of At-Tiri, the convoy in which the three Irish soldiers were travelling was stopped and all the personnel were taken prisoner by de-facto forces. The three Irish soldiers were disarmed and separated from the rest of the group. Private O'Mahony was shot and seriously injured while Privates Barrett and Smallhorne were murdered."

"I know that this matter has been pursued for years by several Ministers for Defence and Ministers for Foreign Affairs and their officials, as well as the Irish military authorities. I also know that the Taoiseach raised the matter with the Lebanese authorities on his recent visit to Lebanon. I am pleased that progress has been made and I am hopeful that this is the start of the journey that will see the killer who took the lives of two serving Irish soldiers and the serious injury of another serving Irish solider, brought to justice."

"The next question is what measures can be taken by the Irish authorities in this case. I know that work is ongoing at the moment by the Department of Defence, the Attorney General's office, and the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. The country with primary jurisdiction in this case is the Lebanon in terms of pursuing a prosecution against the alleged perpetrator. No findings have yet been made on the case, but I hope that this will change in time.
"I want to assure the families that the Government is doing everything possible to pursue justice and I want to pay tribute today to the families of Privates Barrett and Smallhorne, whose efforts and those of their comrades have ensured that this issue was never forgotten."