The trial of Hezbollah members accused of killing Donegal peacekeeper Sean Rooney in Lebanon has been postponed until February 2025, local media reports.
The delay comes as one of the accused, Mohammad Ayyad, failed to arrive at court for the third time.
Private Seán Rooney, 24, died on December 14th, 2022, when his UN jeep was ambushed by a hostile mob while on peacekeeping duty.
Ayyad was the sole suspect detained by the Lebanese authorities in the aftermath of the attack but was released on bail in November last year.
This is Beirut reports that an attorney for the accused yesterday presented a medical report stating that he was in the hospital.
Ayyad will be tried in propria persona, alongside other individuals, whose verdict will be pronounced in absentia. The five men could face the death penalty under Lebanese law, but this ruling has not been handed down in the state since 2004.
The hearing has now been adjourned to February 12, 2025.
Private Rooney, whose family hails from Donegal and Dundalk, was buried with full military honours and laid to rest in the village of Newtowncunningham.
