Alleged killer of Irish UN soldiers is living in Detroit, selling ice cream

Jawgap

Alleged killer of Irish UN soldiers is living in Detroit, selling ice cream

On April 18, 1980, Private John Barrett and Private Derek Smallhorne, two young Irish soldiers stationed with the United Nations peacekeeping forces in southern Lebanon, were kidnapped, tortured and executed. A third Irish soldier, John O’Mahony, shot five times in the legs and back, survived.

Today, the man allegedly responsible, a former South Lebanon Army militiaman named Mahmoud Bazzi, lives in the US, in Detroit, MI. He makes his living driving an ice cream truck. Last year, he began the application process for American citizenship.

I don't suppose the government will want to upset the yanks by requesting his extradition......

Manach

It goes without saying that justice death of Irish army personnel is of the utmost concern. Based on the article, there should at least be a protest at this person's living in the US, which should provide a sympathetic hearing given the US loses in the Lebanon to terrorism. However, AFAIK there are no legal mechanisms that would allow him to be extradited to Ireland given that the murders occurred outside our jurisdiction. But there is always the possibility that some of the legal rules that protect UN personnel might be invoked to bring some small measure of redress.

Jawgap

There was an event on today to highlight the incident and the lack of justice.....

https://m.facebook.com/groups/286618728074607?view=permalink&id=620167961386347

cruasder777

Jawgap wrote: »

Alleged killer of Irish UN soldiers is living in Detroit, selling ice cream



I don't suppose the government will want to upset the yanks by requesting his extradition......

If he gets citizenship after doing that I can only presume hes on very good terms with Americas agencies.

hfallada

Jawgap wrote: »

Alleged killer of Irish UN soldiers is living in Detroit, selling ice cream



I don't suppose the government will want to upset the yanks by requesting his extradition......

There no point asking for extradition. Judges only extradite when they feel like it. A man came to Ireland, performed assisted suicide on a women( technically murder) and he wasnt extradited because assisted suicide is legal in home state. The judge wasnt bother he carried it on a foreign citizen in a foreign country

MRnotlob606

They families of those victims deserve justice

Zambia

What a kent

Hedgemeister

If this gentleman was selling ice-cream in Drogheda, (or any other town beginning with 'D') instead of Detroit, I very much doubt that anything would be (legally) done to him.
Of all the UNIFIL Battalions, The Irish were (in the 70s & 80s) a thorn in the side of the 'Christians' and were hated by their leader Maj Saad Haddadd because they refused to be bullied. I was an MP with the UNMP at Naqoura in '79 and remember listening to him rant and rave on the Voice of Hope about the Irish and in April '79 he gave his famous 'Rivers of Blood' speech, in which he stated that before long the Wadis of Lebanon would run red with blood...Irish blood.' This was particularily worrying for us MPs because we were on the road all the time, even the roads around Marajoun and Bint Jebal, the Christian stronghold atf the time, especially as we travelled in twos, lightly armed in one vehicle, to and from TFAs and other incidents.
When the attempts at bullying the Irish troops failed, and it did in spectacular fashion at Naqoura (a few times in '78 and again in late April '79 (and I was delighted to be part of kicking the local Milita's ass)...and at Attiri, when 'A' Company gave Haddadd's 'Christian' Militia another, and even bigger, bloody nose.
Not to be beaten however, Haddadd turned to propaganda and began spreading stories that the Irish were 'all drunks', 'trying it on' with the local women, and 'dressing immodestly.' It proved to be a brilliant strategy, at least in the beginning, because it was believed at home...There was even some talk in Government circles about repatriation!
It took some time before the penny dropped with the powers that be in Ireland at the time, but damage was done to our reputation... and even though Haddadd is long dead, his words of propaganda still can be heard today when the Lebanon and Irish troops are mentioned.
Of course, all the above got little mention in the Irish Media, (except the propaganda bits) which, if memory serves, got great attention.
But, I digress...sorry OP, forgive the ramblings of an old soldier.

cookie.monster

how could the U.S. let a terrorist like that walk freely on there streets??

Hedgemeister

cookie.monster wrote: »

how could the U.S. let a terrorist like that walk freely on there streets??

The story of these murders has got a bit muddied over the years. Rumour had it at one time that the lads were not wearing their IRELAND patches because of the threat, but they were pointed out as being Irish by a member of the convoy.
I wasn't there so I can't speculate, and it would be wrong to do so.

(Off-topic aside, sorry if it needs deleting.)

Welcome to boards hedge, good to see you.

earlytobed

cookie.monster wrote: »

how could the U.S. let a terrorist like that walk freely on there streets??

Christian militia man=Israeli ally= friend of USA

cookie.monster

earlytobed wrote: »

Christian militia man=Israeli ally= friend of USA

well when you put it that way i see where your coming from

gizmo555

cookie.monster wrote: »

how could the U.S. let a terrorist like that walk freely on there streets??

earlytobed wrote: »

Christian militia man=Israeli ally= friend of USA

Especially since, as described by Robert Fisk in his book Pity the Nation: Lebanon At War, an Israeli military intelligence officer was present at the murder of Privates Smallhorne and Barrett.

Larbre34

We could always deal with it as the Mossad would? Turnabout being fair play and all that.

arybvtcw0eolkf

earlytobed wrote: »

Christian militia man=Israeli ally= friend of USA

Pte Kevin Joyce = PLO = Friend of [fill in the blanks]..

We were shafted and murdered by all sides.

pablomakaveli

This article was written by one of the men there that day and includes his harrowing account of what happened. I hope that bastard faces justice someday for what he did.

sparky42

Some more recent news about this, I wonder what will happen to him if he is deported?:

http://www.independent.ie/world-news/americas/man-suspected-of-being-involved-in-the-abduction-and-murder-of-two-irish-soldiers-faces-deportation-from-us-30434798.html

Hedgemeister

Nothing at all will happen to the guy. He'll end his days selling ice-cream to (Irish) tourists in Eilat.
Strange thing about us Irish as a people (and I hate to generalize) is that there is more sympathy and outcry about an Egyptian (sorry...'Irish' lad) and his siblings, who travelled to Egypt 'to visit relatives' and ended up in jail, than seeking justice for our dead and MIA peacekeepers.
As an aside, the one sided reporting by the Irish media and very loud and obvious support for Hamas et al in this country will almost certainly put the lives of our present peacekeepers in S. Lebanon and the Golan at risk...(from the Israeli side)
I remember only too well when that blustering old fool Brian Lenihan (Min for Foreign Affairs in the early eighties) called Hadadd and his minions 'terrorists' (true enough maybe, but Lenihan was speaking on the radio in Ireland) while us Irish UNIFIL troops had to deal with these very same Christians every day. In my opinion, Lenihan's ill informed remarks, combined with his ignorance of UNIFIL and military affairs in general, caused us a lot of grief in the Leb.
Lenihan forgot that 'Arabs' had radios, and Hadadd knew about his speech before we did.
During my last trip to Lebanon (in '95) I was in the village of Houle to negotiate with the local Malish commander on mundane matters. Things were going well for a few minutes when one of the commanders escorts (I suspected at the time he was an Israeli) interrupted me.
'Your Government call us terrorists' he said.

When this was translated at the table, the result was akin to throwing a grenade into the room. The meeting broke up in disarray, and we were lucky to get out of the village in one piece.
These people have long memories.

I'm sure Israel is taking note of the Irish support for Hamas in our media and Blogs.
I just hope they don't take it out on our troops.

Wicklowrider

There was a hearing today. According to rte he is requesting to be extradited to the Leb. In this article it says he allegedly told a reporter he would rather die than return to the Leb as he had sided with Israel and would face reprisal.

http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Hearings-begin-for-Lebanese-man-accused-of-killing-Irish-soldiers-and-illegally-entering-US.html

Signore Fancy Pants

Bumping a really old thread, apologies.

Word coming in that Mahmoud Bazzi has been convicted for the murders of Smallhorn and Barrett 40 years ago.

source

Signore Fancy Pants wrote: »

Bumping a really old thread, apologies.

Word coming in that Mahmoud Bazzi has been convicted for the murders of Smallhorn and Barrett 40 years ago.

That's great news but do you have a sauce for that?

punchdrunk

source wrote: »

That's great news but do you have a sauce for that?

What’s your sauce mr source?

tayto lover

source wrote: »

That's great news but do you have a sauce for that?

Y R you not believing it?

KaneToad

tayto lover wrote: »

Y R you not believing it?

Just trying to ketchup with the news...

https://amp.independent.ie/news/former-ice-cream-seller-sentenced-to-life-in-prison-for-murder-of-two-irish-peacekeeping-troops-in-lebanon-40-years-ago-39889707.html

Just now

davetherave

https://twitter.com/LebanonaME/status/1341073684228915202



https://twitter.com/salemzahran05/status/1341057262618554377

*Translated by Google*
A military court headed by Brigadier General Munir Shehadeh issued a sentence of life imprisonment with hard labor reduced to 15 years of hard labor for agent Mahmoud Bazzi, a former security official in Agent Haddad's army who fought Irish soldiers with the 1980 emergency force. Forbidding him to benefit from the heresy of "the fall of crime over time."

Signore Fancy Pants

source wrote: »

That's great news but do you have a sauce for that?

Soz, didnt have an open sauce for it at the time.

Yurt2

Great news to see him convicted. Hopefully it will bring some degree of peace and closure to the families of the two men who were taken from them.

The killer didn't appear to be the brightest button drawing attention to himself applying for US citizenship. Full credit to the American authorities for doggedly investigating him. Many other countries would let him slip through the net.

feargale

Reduced to 15 years because of his age. So the bastard is rewarded for evading justice all these years. FFS!

Fuascailteoir

I knew about the case but didn't know it was that gruesome. Hope the hard labour is indeed hard labour and he lives every day of the 15 years

feargale

feargale wrote: »

Reduced to 15 years because of his age. So the bastard is rewarded for evading justice all these years. FFS!

In a US Jail. No cake walk, like the Irish system - see videos on YouTube about US prisons.

air

He's in a Lebanese prison on a 5 year sentence currently, this is just an additional 15 at the same establishment.
He was deported from the US.

tayto lover

Hope he serves every minute.