A man, who held bank staff hostage inside a bank last week in Beirut, Lebanon, to access his savings is being hailed as a hero by the public. Lebanon is currently facing the worst economic crisis in its history.
Bassam as-Sheikh Hussein works as a food delivery driver in Beirut. However, last Thursday was very different from his routine life. He walked into a bank in the city with a shotgun and held up to 10 people hostage in a 7-hour standoff, according to AP News.
Bassam did it to get access to his trapped savings in the bank to pay his father’s medical bills. He fired three warning shots and locked himself in the bank with the hostages and threatened to set himself on fire if he wasn’t allowed to access his savings. He finally surrendered in exchange for $35,000 (close to INR 28 lakhs) of his money and was then arrested.
Lebanon’s economic well-being is in shambles. The free-fall started in 2019 and the country is currently in its third year of economic crisis. This has led the government to put strict rules on withdrawals of the public’s foreign currency savings, effectively freezing them. Bassam had around $2,10,000 (close to INR 1.67 crores) trapped in the bank.
When the hostage situation was being dealt with, Bassam’s wife was outside the bank. While talking to the reporters she said about him, “He did what he had to do.” The crowd started gathering outside the bank and chanting, “You are a hero” while protesting against the government. People praised Bassam on social media too, meanwhile, the World Bank has described the situation in Lebanon as a “deliberate depression… orchestrated by the country’s elite”.
Bassam has been released from custody after charges against him were dropped by the bank. Judge Ghassan al-Khoury ordered his release after the charges were dropped. However, there is a possibility that Bassam might face charges by the state.
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