U.S. aide: Lebanon holds innocent man

MANCHESTER, N.H. — A Lebanese-American man in custody in Lebanon is innocent of the charges brought against him by the Lebanese government, according to a U.S. lawmaker’s top aide.

Naz Durakoglu, senior foreign policy adviser to Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., said in a conference call with media outlets Friday that colleagues in different U.S. government offices have found no evidence that Amer Fakhoury is guilty of murder, prison torture and other allegations levied by his native country.

Durakoglu said that in such cases there are often made-up allegations or charges, forcing defendants to try to refute lies. She said the U.S. government is instead focusing on the distinct lack of evidence.

“In this case, we’re confident that he is not who they say he is,” Durakoglu said.

Fakhoury is a 57-year-old restaurant owner from Dover, N.H., who became a U.S. citizen last year.

He is accused of working as a senior warden at Khiam Prison, which was run by an Israel-backed Lebanese militia during Israel’s occupation of southern Lebanon two decades ago. The prison has been described by human-rights groups as a center for torture.

Fakhoury was detained in September after he returned to his native Lebanon from the U.S., and Lebanon’s intelligence service said he confessed during questioning to being a warden. A military investigative judge charged Fakhoury earlier this month. The charges could carry a death sentence.

However, Fakhoury’s lawyer and family in New Hampshire said that while he was indeed a member of the Israel-backed militia and worked at the prison, he had no direct contact with inmates and was never involved in the interrogation or torture of prisoners.

Shaheen said she is drafting sanctions legislation against Lebanese officials in order to push for Fakhoury’s release. Details of the bill were unclear as of Friday.