Judicial documents stated that the United States is preparing to release a Lebanese businessman who is considered an important financier of Hezbollah, two years before the end of his five-year prison sentence, due to his health problems and the risk of contracting the emerging coronavirus.

On May 28, a federal judge in Washington approved an urgent "resting" request by Qassim Tajuddin, 64, on the grounds that he suffers from "serious health problems" that make him vulnerable to HIV infection, and thus will be able to travel to Lebanon in the coming weeks.

According to court documents, Tajuddin left the Cumberland Federal Prison in Maryland after a two-week quarantine, and was placed in a detention center pending his ability to return on a scheduled flight next July.

The release of Taj al-Din raised speculation, as some considered that this step came in response to Beirut's March release of Lebanese-American citizen Amer al-Fakhouri, accused of torturing prisoners while he was a leader in a militia that dealt with Israel during its occupation of southern Lebanon.

William Taylor, Tajuddin's lawyer, rejected the allegations, saying, "It is a release on humanitarian grounds. You can see that in the documents ... This has nothing to do with Fakhoury."

In May 2009, Taj al-Din, hailing from Beirut, was considered an "important financial contributor" to a "terrorist" organization because of its support for the Lebanese Hezbollah, which is designated a terrorist organization by the United States.

Taj al-Din was banned from doing business with Americans, but he was accused of continuing to do business with US companies, and was arrested in March upon his arrival in Casablanca, Morocco, at the request of the US authorities.