Mahmoud Bazzi (Photo from Free Press video)
A 72-year-old Dearborn ice cream man suspected of killing two Irish soldiers on a peacekeeping mission more than three decades ago, was deported to Lebanon on Thursday where he was immediately arrested, the Detroit Free Press reports.
Tresa Baldas and Jim Schaefer of the Free Press report that Mahmoud Bazzi, who has a wife and three daughters, was deported five months after an immigration judge in Detroit ordered him deported for entering the U.S. with a fake passport more than 20 years ago. He was not deported for the UN deaths.
The Freep reported:
According to Bazzi's lawyer, his arrest in Lebanon has nothing to do with the Irish soldiers' deaths, but is merely a routine procedure following the American deportation order.
Irish officials think otherwise.
"I believe that this is a significant step in the pursuit of justice for Privates Thomas Barrett and Derek Smallhorne who lost their lives while on United Nations peacekeeping duty in Lebanon almost 35 years ago," Irish Minister Simon Coveney was quoted as saying today in TheJournal.ie, an internet news publication in Ireland. "It is an important day for the families and I wish to commend them for their continued commitment to securing justice for their loved ones."
