Appeal over leniency of sentences in Rooney killing

A formal appeal over the leniency of the sentences of those indicted for the murder of Private Sean Rooney has been lodged, the Tanaiste has said.

Pte Rooney, 24, from Newtowncunningham in Co Donegal, was killed when a convoy of Irish troops serving with a UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon was ambushed and fired upon on December 14, 2022.

The shooting happened near the town of Al-Aqbiya in a stronghold of Hezbollah.

Pte Rooney was from the 121 Infantry Battalion of the Defence Forces.

The main person convicted for his killing is still at large and the Irish Government has described some of the sentences imposed on others over the matter as unduly lenient.

On Tuesday, Tanaiste Simon Harris said prosecutors in Lebanon have formally lodged an appeal against the sentences handed down to those who were indicted for the murder of Pte Rooney and the attacks on Shane Kearney, Corporal Joshua Phelan and Trooper Nathan Bryan in the same incident.

Mr Harris wrote to the Lebanese Government following last month’s trial to express the disappointment of the Irish Government and, in particular, of the Rooney family, at the leniency of the sentences handed down.

He met Pte Rooney’s family last week after his mother criticised Mr Harris’s engagement with them over the matter.

Mr Harris, who is also Defence and Foreign Affairs Minister, had committed to holding urgent talks with the Lebanese Justice and Defence Ministers in order to press for an appeal.

Those talks took place on Tuesday.

Mr Harris said he then spoke to Pte Rooney’s mother, Natasha McCloskey, and informed her that the Lebanese Government has appointed a new military chief prosecutor to take over the case.

He also said an appeal against the sentences has this afternoon been formally lodged with the military Cassation Court, while the Lebanese authorities have committed to taking urgent steps to ensure the individual convicted of the murder of Private Rooney is taken into custody.

Mr Harris said: “I very much welcome the confirmation today from the Lebanese Justice and Defence Ministers that an appeal has been formally lodged against the sentences handed down in the case of the death of Private Sean Rooney and the injuries of his colleagues.”

He added: “In my calls with my Lebanese counterparts, I made it clear that the sentences handed down in this case are simply not acceptable and are very disappointing.

“They have caused great upset and insult to the Rooney family and everything must be done to ensure justice is served for Sean and his colleagues who were injured.”