Little Lebanon To Go owner who was imprisoned in native country dies at 57

Amer Fakhoury (Courtesy photo)

A Dover restaurant owner who was imprisoned in his native Lebanon over charges he was a former senior warden at the notorious Khiam Prison there died on Monday.

Amer Fakhoury, who owned Little Lebanon To Go, was 57.

Fakhoury made headlines last September after he was detained while vacationing in Lebanon and accused of being the hated "Butcher of Khiam."

He was diagnosed with Stage 4 lymphoma while in prison and released in March.

Lebanon officials claimed Fakhoury had been a senior warden at Khiam, and had participated in the torture and killing of inmates; family members said he worked at the prison but had no contact with prisoners.

Fakhoury's family said he was tortured while in prison "under the hands of Hezbollah," a Lebanon political group considered by many a terrorist organization.

"God loved Amer Fakhoury so much that he took him out of the hands of these terrorists and brought him to his family in America to live out his last days," family members said in a statement.

U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., lobbied publicly and often for Fakhoury's release from Lebanon.

"It's heartbreaking to learn of Amer's passing," she said in a statement on Monday. "Billy and I send our condolences and continue to offer our support to the Fakhoury family who have been through so much. I'm very relieved that Amer was able to spend the last few months of his life surrounded by loved ones while receiving the best care possible. Amer was a loving husband, father and grandfather, and a pillar in his community. He immigrated to the United States, and through hard work and entrepreneurship, he lived the American dream. I know all of New Hampshire mourns with the Fakhoury family."