Two men indicted of killing mother and her three daughters in south Lebanon

BEIRUT — Beirut's Acting First Investigative Judge, Charbel Abu Samra, charged on Wednesday two perpetrators of the quadruple crime of Ansar, last March, for voluntary manslaughter in accordance with Article 549 of the Penal Code which as a maximum penalty, can include the death penalty. The two men, H. F., a Lebanese, and H.G., his Syrian accomplice, are accused of having perpetrated the murder of Bassima Abbas and her three daughters aged between 15 and 22 years in this village in South Lebanon, according to the National News Agency.

Here’s what we know:

    • According to the NNA, two men, identified by their initials as H.F. and his accomplice H.G. were indicted for voluntary manslaughter on Wednesday by the judge. The two men were previously identified as Hassan Fayad and Hassan Ghannash.

    • After being kidnapped and then missing for 25 days, the bodies of Abbas and her daughters Rima, Tala and Mana were found in a cave in an orchard on March 25. Fayad had admitted having abducted and then murdered the four women with his accomplice. The motive for the crime is still unknown.

    • The death penalty is provided for by Lebanese law, but a moratorium on executions has been in force since 2004. 

Correction: An earlier version of this article said the two perpetrators were sentenced to death. They were in fact indicted with voluntary manslaughter charges, which can include the death penalty as a maximum sentence.