To
summarise, Amer Fakhoury is a member of the now practically disbanded (currently only serves as an unrecognized party in Israel) South Lebanon Army, a predominantly Christian militia, which served as an Israeli proxy during the country's civil was and the subsequent hostilities. Its rule in southern Lebanon was marked by several abuses and human rights violations, the most notorious of which is the
Khiam prison, where inmates were regularly
tortured and harmed by their captors. In 2000, following the unilateral withdrawal of the Israeli Army from occupied Lebanon (with the exception of the Shebaa farms), the SLA was smashed by the regular army and Hezbollah, so its members fled abroad, mainly to Israel and secondarily to the United States.
In what concerns specifically Amer Fakhoury, who worked as a warden in Khiam, he emigrated to United States, having also received the American citizenship, but during last September he returned to his homeland. He was recognized by his victims and promptly detained by the authorities, as he was accused of overseeing the torturing of hundreds of dissidents. Several
American politicians,
including the Democrat senator of New Hampshire (where Fakhoury lives) and Republican Ted Cruz, who has quite a
rocky relationship with Near East Christians, reacted aggressively to the arrest, by sponsoring a bill for the imposition of economic sanctions to Lebanon, unless Fakhoury is released.
In March, Fakhoury was indeed released and allowed to leave Lebanon, under the justification that the statutory limitations for his crimes had expired. However, many Lebanese disagreed with the judiciary verdict, as they perceived it as a fragile excuse, designed to hide the true reason for Fakhoury's escape, namely the threat posed to bankrupt Lebanon by the measures of Washington (Donald Trump expressed his satisfaction over the news). In my opinion, this incident is a clear demonstration of how easily soft power can influence the politics of a weak government, like that of Beirut. Additionally, the United States response is understandable, as Fakhoury was one of their citizens, but their undeniable interference, regardless of its actual impact, will probably harm their public image in Lebanon. Not only is an obvious insult to Lebanese sovereignty, but also generously supported an objectively ruthless individual with a very shady record.