Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Asharq Al-Awsat
Asharq Al-Awsat
World
Asharq Al-Awsat

Officials Release Beirut Gunman after Bank Drops Charges

Bassam al-Sheikh Hussein, an armed man who took hostages, leaves the branch of a Federal bank in Beirut, Lebanon, 11 August 2022. (EPA)

Lebanon’s state prosecutor on Tuesday released a man who took up to 10 people hostage in a bank at gunpoint while demanding funds from his locked savings account.

In a case that has drawn nationwide attention, food delivery driver Bassam al-Sheikh Hussein, 42, fired three warning shots from a shotgun last Thursday at a Federal Bank branch in Beirut. He threatened to douse himself with gasoline and set himself ablaze if the bank didn't let him withdraw his $210,000 in savings for his father’s medical bills and other expenses.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.