Officials Release Beirut Gunman after Bank Drops Charges

Officials Release Beirut Gunman after Bank Drops Charges

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.

Hussein was released from custody after he went on a hunger strike and the bank dropped charges against him.

Hussein had locked himself in the bank and held up to 10 people hostage for about seven hours. Dozens of protesters gathered around the bank to support him, while soldiers and riot police cordoned off the area. No one was injured.

Lebanon’s cash-strapped banks since 2019 have imposed strict limits on withdrawals of foreign currency, tying up the savings of millions of people. About three-quarters of the population have slipped into poverty, as the tiny Mediterranean country’s economy continues to spiral.

After hours of negotiations, Hussein and officers agreed that the bank would release $35,000 of his