No doubt many of you have been following the dramatic story of Sally Faulkner and the Australian 60 Minutes crew, who were detained in Lebanon last week after the botched ‘rescue’ attempt of Sally’s two children.
Well, you will be relieved to hear that Sally and the four TV crew members are set to be released today, after reaching an out-of-court settlement with Sally’s ex-husband, Ali Elamine.
Judge Rami Abdallah announced that the charges against the parties have been dropped and Sally and the crew (including show presenter Tara Brown) are now free to leave Lebanon.
Speaking after the decision was revealed, Mr Elamine said: “We reached a point where it is enough for her [Sally] being detained. It is wrong for the children and for her as a mother.”
This was just the latest twist in Sally’s story, following a long campaign to return her children with Mr Elamine – Lahala, 6, and Noah, 2 – back to her home country of Australia. Mr Elamine brought the kids to his native Lebanon, claiming that they were just there for a holiday; he later refused to return them to Sally in Australia.
Matters reached a head last week, when Sally enlisted the help of a professional agency to take the kids and bring them home with her. The 60 Minutes crew filmed the plot, with little Lahala and Noah snatched from a bus stop as they waited for their grandmother to collect them.
The TV crew were then arrested along with the agency members, while Sally was detained later on.
We are so relieved to hear that this heartbroken mother has been released, and we hope that this shocking incident will bring about change for the family.
