DUBAI: Lebanese public prosecutor, Judge Ghada Aoun, has charged Fadi El-Hachem, the husband of the singer Nancy Ajram, with the murder of the intruder who broke into their Beirut property on Jan. 5, judicial sources told Arab News.
Celebrity dentist, El-Hachem, is accused of shooting dead the masked intruder, who broke into their home in the early hours of the morning. The dentist said the assailant was threatening his family - including his three daughters.
But the judge said that if it could be proven that El-Hachem acted in self-defense, then the charge of murder could be dropped.
El-Hachem’s lawyer told Arab News that the celebrity doctor will appear in court next week.
“El-Hachem’s act of legitimate defense is described in accordance with what is stipulated in the Lebanese Penal Code,” he added. “I am confident that the decision issued will drop charges on El-Hachem.”
A warrant was initially issued for the arrest of Al-Hashem on Jan. 5, but he was later released after investigations, as the case was treated as “self-defense.”
Initial CCTV footage from the celebrity couple’s home appeared to show what was believed to be an intruder carrying a gun in the villa. El-Hachem then appeared and chased the deceased, firing his gun as the intruder ran towards their daughter’s bedroom.
MTV Lebanon has since reported that the Syrian intruder, Mohammed Hassan Al-Moussa, 30, was shot 16 times.
“Before anything, Fadi is a father and a husband. He has responsibilities. He is a human being... It was a normal reaction to the threat he experienced,” Ajram said in conversation with LBCI Lebanon News on Jan. 7.
She revealed that the couple's children, aged 10, eight and one, were asleep during the ordeal. “The children were in their rooms sleeping. They did not see what happened, but they woke up and heard everything,” she shared.
During the interview, Ajram also opened up about how she hid in the bathroom when she realized there was an intruder in her home.
“I heard Fadi telling him ‘whatever you want.’ When I heard this sentence, I knew the intruder was a robber and I ran to the bathroom with my phone.
“I called my father first because I was scared… I was shaking and I was in a state that I can’t describe to anyone. I called my father and told him ‘dad there is a thief in the house… do something now, Fadi and I and the children are home.”
The singer also denied claims that the assailant was known to the family, stating “We do not know the intruder and he does not work with us.”
