Tara Brown and the 60 minutes team have been held up in Beirut. The 60 minutes team was in Beirut filming a story on the recovery mission of two Australian children. The children were abducted by their father, Ali El Alamine and taken to his homeland, Lebanon. The mother of the children, Sally Faulkner, is reported to have accompanied the 60 minutes team alongside Child Abduction Recovery International (CARI).
It has been confirmed that Tara Brown and the 60 minutes team were arrested by authorities in Beirut whilst filming the story. CARI has come under fire as a questionable child recovery agency and their methods of recovery may have played a role in the detainment of the 60 minutes team.
Media outlets in Beirut are reporting that armed men were present during the recovery operation leading to precedent for an arrest. The children and their mother are reported to be staying in a safe house until further notice.
Channel 9 are reluctant to comment until the 60 minutes team are safely released. The Australian consular service is currently working on getting the team released and returned to Australia.
