Judicial procedures in the case of Amer Fakhoury, a former collaborator with Israel, have continued amid reports that he was still in Lebanon after he was acquitted on Monday. The Military Court of Cassation - the Criminal Chamber headed by Judge Toni Lattouf, received on Wednesday a request submitted by State Commissioner to the Military Tribunal Judge Ghassan Khoury to overturn the verdict on Fakhoury’s release. Well-informed sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Fakhoury, a US citizen, did not leave the country, stressing that a lawyer was appointed to follow up on his case. The sources stressed that the case was not politicized, adding that the judge had based his verdict on the fact that more than 10 years had passed since he allegedly committed the crimes. Fakhoury was accused of arresting, seizing, and torturing Lebanese citizens in the Khiam prison that Israel established during its occupation of southern Lebanon between 1985 and 2000. The sources added that Fakhoury was in a very delicate health condition and was being treated at a Lebanese hospital. They also noted that the decision to acquit him was based on a specific law that has been in force since 1973, pursuant to which many convicts have been ordered released in 2000 and 2003. On the other hand, the sources did not rule out possible “political benefits” from Fakhoury’s acquittal. While noting that Hezbollah and Amal Movement had reservations over the decision, the sources affirmed that “influential parties in the country are expecting that his release would stop possible sanctions by the US Treasury, which will affect significant Lebanese figures from outside the Shiite community.” According to the sources, those influential parties consider that Fakhoury’s release could freeze the list of sanctions that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo hinted at during his visit to Beirut last year, and echoed by Ambassador David Hale and former US Ambassador to Lebanon Elizabeth Richard.