The Australians implicated in the kidnapping case in Lebanon have been released from prison after a deal was struck, with both Sally Faulkner and the ’60 Minutes’ crew heading home to Australia. Reports indicate that the father of the children Ali al-Amin agreed to drop charges both against the crew and his ex-wife.
However, judge Rami Abdullah said he had not made a decision as to whether he would refer the case to another court, which would mean that they would have to return to Lebanon for another hearing.
Amin claims that he did not receive any money to drop the charges, despite reports to the contrary.
More details have cropped up about how the arrest took place. Amin knew about his wife’s plans to bring back the children because he still had access to her email via his mobile device, but revelations have emerged that Lebanese intelligence services also knew what was going down.
This all comes after the suggestion that Amin did not want to make any kind of deal, as he did not want the ’60 Minutes’ crew to escape prosecution. But they’re out of Lebanon now. Lawyer Ghassan Moghabghab had this to say:
“Everyone is relieved that this is all over. There will be some sort of arrangement on custody later on. For now, Sally is free to return to Australia.”
Source: The Guardian.
Image: Channel 9.
