Death Penalty News

A Hezbollah terrorist sentenced to death in absentia for the 2022 killing of Irish UN peacekeeper Private Seán Rooney in Lebanon is believed to be hiding in Iran, Ireland’s Sunday World newspaper reported, citing diplomatic sources. Mohammad Ayyad was convicted by a Lebanese military tribunal late in July for his role in the fatal attack on a UN convoy near the village of Al-Aqbiya, south of Beirut. He was not present at the trial, and Lebanese authorities have not disclosed his whereabouts. “We suspect he is in Iran and it is unlikely anyone will hand him over to face a death penalty,” one diplomatic source told the newspaper. “It is not a satisfactory situation but all we can do is keep the pressure on and see if we can get justice for Seán and his family.”

A man has been sentenced to death for the murder of Private Seán Rooney, a soldier from Newtown Cunningham (Ireland), in Lebanon. Mohammad Ayyad was not in court when the decision was handed down. A number of his co-accused were given lighter sentences. The 24-year-old was serving with UNIFIL forces in Lebanon when he was shot dead while travelling in a convoy in December 2022. The UNIFIL forces refers to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, a peacekeeping mission established in 1978 by the UN Security Council.

Five men could face execution after being charged in connection with the killing of Irish UN peacekeeper Private Sean Rooney in Lebanon. According to a judicial source in Lebanon, the military court which has charged the men claims they were part of a Hezbollah-led militia. The Acting First Military Investigating Judge Fadi Sawan is understood to have accused the men of "forming a group of malefactors to commit a crime" in his 30-page indictment in the case. His document also claims that CCTV footage from the scene of PTE Rooney’s death "clearly shows the patrol being attacked by armed men from all sides”.