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Minister for Defence Mr Simon Coveney T.D., Welcomes the deportation of the alleged perpetrator of the murder of two Irish soldiers from the United States to his native Lebanon
A Lebanese man, Mr. Mahmoud Bazzi who is the alleged perpetrator of the murder of two Irish soldiers in the Lebanon in 1980, admitted in immigration court in the US yesterday, 11 July 2014 that he entered the United States without proper documentation and thereafter lied to obtain lawful immigration status in the country.
A court in Detroit presided over by U.S. Immigration Judge David Paruch ordered Mahmoud Bazzi 71, should be deported on an administrative violation.
The Minister for Defence Mr Simon Coveney T.D., speaking in relation to the court decision said “I welcome developments in this case. Bazzi now faces repatriation to his native country. He will remain in U.S. custody pending his removal from the United States”. The Minister added “this is an important step in the process to bring to Justice the alleged perpetrator of what was an atrocious crime, the torture and murder of two innocent Irish peacekeepers. I am following developments in this case closely and officials at the Irish embassies in Washington and in Cairo, which is accredited to Lebanon, are monitoring developments”.
Mr. Bazzi’s departure date was not set in Court but his lawyer Mr K. Fred Ajluni said he expects Bazzi will leave within a month.
In concluding, the Minister said: “I would like to assure the families that I and the Irish Government will continue to do everything possible to pursue justice for both men who lost their lives in the line of peacekeeping duty”.