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Aussie TV crew arrested for kidnapping in Lebanon to fight charges: media

Xinhua, April 13, 2016 Adjust font size:

An television crew will fight charges of kidnapping over their involvement in the allegedly botched abduction and recovery of an Australian mother's children, local media reported Wednesday, in a case that's brought journalism ethics into question.

A television crew from Australia's Nine Network and Australian mother Sally Faulkner were arrested by Lebanese authorities, along with members of a British-based international "child recovery" agency, last week following the attempt to kidnap her two children from ex-husband Ali el-Amein.

All parties involved were charged with numerous offences by a Lebanese judge overnight, including kidnapping or holding a minor, forming an association with two or more people to commit crime against a person and physical assault, local media reported on Wednesday.

If proven guilty, they could face anywhere from three years in jail to a life sentence. The charges however could be downgraded to a misdemeanor act as Faulkner's attempt to be reunited with her children was not a case of kidnapping for ransom, Australia's national broadcaster reported.

CCTV footage aired on local media appear to show the children being abducted by a group of masked man from their paternal grandmother and nanny on a Beirut street, and whisked into a waiting car.

Lebanese authorities alleged the Australian TV crew, who were filming the recovery operation as part of a story, paid the British-based recovery agents 115,000 Australian dollars (86,877 U.S. dollars).

The incident has raised discussions among local Australian journalists about the ethics of the television crew, if indeed they did pay the child recovery team, for writing a cheque for "another juicy exclusive", which has become a diplomatic incident.

"Faulkner's anguish is understandable. As is her desire to drum up media attention. But at what cost? That's not something a desperate, tormented mother can coolly assess," Fairfax Media entertainment reporter Michael Lallo said in a commentary piece at the weekend.

"A TV program can."

"If its actions contributed to these kids being denied their mother even longer, that's the real problem." Endit