By Mark Zoarob | Staff Writer
“We only want execution” – with these words, families, and friends of the victims of the horrific Ansar crime expressed their torment. In the southern town of Ansar, three girls and their mother were killed in cold blood on March 2nd, 2022. Security forces confirmed that they were brutally killed at the hands of the criminal Hussein Fayyad. This tragedy, which shook the village of
Ansar and the entire country of Lebanon, elicited outrage with many voices from the community calling for the punishment or execution of the criminal.
When the security and judicial forces should have begun looking for the murdered woman, they did not act, believing that the “divorced” mother had fled with her daughters. The father initially suspected the criminal, since he was frequenting the mother due to his interest in their middle child.
It was discovered that the murderer had first killed their middle child following an argument, then killed the mother who was attempting to protect her daughter and keep the murderer away from her. The other two girls were horrified by the scene and lost consciousness. He ended his horrible deed by murdering them as well.
According to a statement released by the Lebanese army, a series of investigations with the criminal resulted in his confession. He confessed that he carried out the kidnapping with the assistance of another man and that they transferred the kidnapped girls and their mother to a cave located outside the town.
After the Beirut Criminal Court postponed the trial of the two Ansar murderers, Sami Sidqi, the court’s chief, ordered that the offender Hussein Fayyad be referred to a psychiatrist. The case was then rescheduled until next May.
In an effort to obtain mitigating excuses for Hussein Fayyad, his legal representatives also requested that he be referred to a psychiatrist. Maher Jaber, the victim’s attorney, said that this postponement is a validation of the judiciary’s carelessness and the lack of seriousness surrounding this situation. He emphasized that he “understands the legal procedures,” but said that “the postponement of the session for two months, in light of the recurrent delays” is cause for worry. While it might have been delayed for a few days or a week to follow up on this request, he called it “disregard for attaining justice for the victims.” He lamented that the judge “evaluated the murderer’s psychological state and ignored the relatives of the victims.”
A group of the victims’ relatives attended the session, which was held a year after the crime. Once the judge revealed his verdict, they expressed their refusal to postpone the case and seek mitigation for the criminal Hussein Fayyad. The judge then ordered the arrest of the three daughters’ father as well as their maternal aunt, as a result of their reaction to the judgment. While he indicated that they were taken down for arrest. However, they both left after interventions took place.