A former UN peacekeeper from Kerry says he understands that his attempted murderer has been released from prison in Lebanon.
The Department of Defence said it received ‘officially unconfirmed reports’ that Mahmoud Bazzi who murdered two Irish soldiers and tried to kill their colleague John O’Mahony had been released from jail.
Mr Bazzi's early release means he served over eight-and-a-half years of a 15-year jail sentence, as he'd been in custody since 2015.
In December 2020, Mahmoud Bazzi, who’s now 79-years-old, was found guilty of murdering Privates Thomas Barrett and Derek Smallhorne in Lebanon in April 1980.
He was also found guilty of attempting to murder Private O’Mahony who was seriously injured.
Mahmoud Bazzi kidnapped, tortured and killed the two Irish UN peacekeepers and shot John O’Mahony while a member of the Israeli-sponsored South Lebanon Army (SLA) militia.
He disappeared from Lebanon in 1980 and his whereabouts were unknown until he was found in the US 20 years later.
He had been in custody since 2015 after he had been deported from the US to Lebanon.
In his 2020 trial, Mr Bazzi was sentenced to life imprisonment but due to his age, the sentence was reduced to 15 years.
John O’Mahony said he understood that Mahmoud Bazzi had been released from prison because he was not in good health.
Mr O’Mahony said he was disappointed for the families of Thomas Barrett and Derek Smallhorne.
