A man suspected of fatally shooting Irish United Nations peacekeeper Private Seán Rooney in south Lebanon has been released after spending almost a year in detention, a military court official has said.
RTE New is reporting the court freed the suspect on bail pending a trial.
On 14 December 2022, Pte Rooney (23), who was born and raised in Dundalk but spent most of his life in Newtowncunningham, was killed and three others wounded after a UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) convoy came under fire in south Lebanon – a stronghold of the Iran-backed Hezbollah group.
“A military court … ordered on Thursday the release of the detainee suspected of killing the Irish peacekeeper” after he had been interrogated twice, the official said, adding that he was freed on bail.
The suspect was part of the group that surrounded the UN patrol, the official said, adding that “he may have opened fire … but there is no conclusive evidence proving he was the one who injured the Irish peacekeeper, causing his death”.
The only suspect detained in the case, he was handed over to the authorities by Hezbollah in December last year, a security official had previously said.
“We continue to urge that all perpetrators be held accountable, and for justice for Private Rooney and his family,” UNIFIL said.
Pte Rooney’s colleague, Trooper Shane Kearney, who was 23 at the time of the attack, was seriously injured in the incident which occurred while they were travelling from southern Lebanon to Beirut International Airport.
He was repatriated to Ireland for medical treatment.
Lebanon’s ailing justice system has long been hampered by political interference.
UNIFIL said it was aware of reports of the man’s release, adding in a statement that the force was “working to confirm this information with the military court”.
In June, a Lebanese judge had accused five men, including the suspect who was released last week, of killing the peacekeeper.
UNIFIL acts as a buffer between Lebanon and Israel, neighbours who remain technically at war. It operates in the south near the border.
Hezbollah security chief Wafic Safa has said the killing was “unintentional”.
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