BEIRUT: According to the man’s family and a legal advocacy group, a Lebanese judge has ordered the release from jail without charge of the man who last week held hostages at a bank in Beirut in an effort to recover his money that had been frozen during the nation’s 2019 financial collapse.
The Federal Bank of Lebanon branch in Beirut’s Hamra neighbourhood was entered by Bassam al-Sheikh Hussein, 42, on Thursday. He threatened staff members with a gun and wouldn’t leave until the bank promised to give him $35,000 of his more than $200,000 deposit.
He claimed he required the money to cover a relative’s medical expenses.According to his brother Atef, Hussein was detained on Thursday after the release of all six hostages but freed on Tuesday afternoon without being charged.