Post by Janjoon-Lebanese on Oct 9, 2006 11:18:22 GMT -5
Human Rights violations
09-10-06
BY: SOLIDA
Press release :
Last Thursday, SOLIDA (Support of Lebanese Detained Arbitrarily) made public a report on Human Rights violations that were committed by the Army’s Intelligence Services at the detention center in the Lebanese Ministry of Defense, which has served since 1992 as an interrogation and detention place under the sole control of the Army Intelligence Services.
The report details the acts of torture, the unfair trials and the horrible conditions under which individuals are held at that location.
The Defense Ministry’s detention center is a legally-sanctioned prison since
1995 in which an unknown number of people are held today and whose access is denied to the International Committee of the Red Cross. This situation has made it such that no detention center in Lebanon is inspected by the international organization, in contravention to a 2002 decree granting it the authorization to conduct such visits. The report in fact highlights this specific issue, among others.
The potentially positive impact of the publication of the report must be noted first and foremost: On Saturday, the Lebanese Press reported that a meeting took place on Friday between Public Prosecutor Said Mirza, Internal Security Forces (ISF) Chief Ahraf Rifi, and the Army Intelligence Services Chief General George Khoury to consider a visit by the Red Cross to Lebanese prisons. SOLIDA is very pleased that one of the recommendations of the report has been heard and hopes that it will translate into a positive and actual follow through.
In contrast, the announcement of the publication of the report has resulted in a series of repressive measures against SOLIDA, which is a French Human Rights organization affiliated with the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network (REMDH) and which has been struggling since 1996 against the practices of arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances and the impunity of those who commit egregious violations of Human Rights in Lebanon. SOLIDA opened an office in Beirut in May 2006, owing to the “changes” in the political climate since the assassination of Prime Minister Hariri and the end of the Syrian occupation.
On Tuesday, which is the day the call went out to the media convening them to attend the press conference for the release of the report, the “Press Contacts” cell phone of the organization was apparently tapped as evidenced by the constant static noises heard on that phone since that day.
During the night of Wednesday to Thursday, that is the night preceding the conference, the Central Unit, a Hard Drive, and an Internet Router were stolen from the offices of the organization in Dora. This robbery was conducted without a break-in, indicating that the door was opened using sophisticated methods. Since the door cannot be easily closed by slamming it, it was left ajar. All valuable items in the office were left intact, but some confidential files concerning the Lebanese detainees in Syria, which were stored in filing cabinets, were apparently carefully examined since they were found on a table.
On Thursday morning, and at the request of the office managers, the ISF came to record the theft and take fingerprints. They were followed by several Security Services whose mandate is categorically not to investigate this matter. Indeed, soon after the ISF left the office, three armed military personnel showed up at the office inquiring about happened. The next day, Friday, three men in Municipal Police uniforms came inquiring about the mission of the organization. In the afternoon, a SOLIDA official received a call on their cell phone from General Security inquiring about the legality of SOLIDA’s status in Lebanon and wanting to know about its potential “political enemies”. Finally, Saturday, the Al-Akhbar daily, citing sources close to the Interior Ministry, published an article according to which SOLIDA allegedly obtained its information from a former Lebanese Security official living in Paris and whom the organization contacted by way of his wife…
SOLIDA believes that all these actions are acts of intimidation against Human Rights defenders whose sole mission is to denounce violations, regardless of who the victims or the presumed authors of such violations may be. SOLIDA calls on the Lebanese Authorities to immediately cease their intimidations, to uncover and apprehend those responsible for the theft, and to implement the recommendations made in the report so that the practice of torture in Lebanon becomes a thing of the past.
09-10-06
BY: SOLIDA
Press release :
Last Thursday, SOLIDA (Support of Lebanese Detained Arbitrarily) made public a report on Human Rights violations that were committed by the Army’s Intelligence Services at the detention center in the Lebanese Ministry of Defense, which has served since 1992 as an interrogation and detention place under the sole control of the Army Intelligence Services.
The report details the acts of torture, the unfair trials and the horrible conditions under which individuals are held at that location.
The Defense Ministry’s detention center is a legally-sanctioned prison since
1995 in which an unknown number of people are held today and whose access is denied to the International Committee of the Red Cross. This situation has made it such that no detention center in Lebanon is inspected by the international organization, in contravention to a 2002 decree granting it the authorization to conduct such visits. The report in fact highlights this specific issue, among others.
The potentially positive impact of the publication of the report must be noted first and foremost: On Saturday, the Lebanese Press reported that a meeting took place on Friday between Public Prosecutor Said Mirza, Internal Security Forces (ISF) Chief Ahraf Rifi, and the Army Intelligence Services Chief General George Khoury to consider a visit by the Red Cross to Lebanese prisons. SOLIDA is very pleased that one of the recommendations of the report has been heard and hopes that it will translate into a positive and actual follow through.
In contrast, the announcement of the publication of the report has resulted in a series of repressive measures against SOLIDA, which is a French Human Rights organization affiliated with the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network (REMDH) and which has been struggling since 1996 against the practices of arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances and the impunity of those who commit egregious violations of Human Rights in Lebanon. SOLIDA opened an office in Beirut in May 2006, owing to the “changes” in the political climate since the assassination of Prime Minister Hariri and the end of the Syrian occupation.
On Tuesday, which is the day the call went out to the media convening them to attend the press conference for the release of the report, the “Press Contacts” cell phone of the organization was apparently tapped as evidenced by the constant static noises heard on that phone since that day.
During the night of Wednesday to Thursday, that is the night preceding the conference, the Central Unit, a Hard Drive, and an Internet Router were stolen from the offices of the organization in Dora. This robbery was conducted without a break-in, indicating that the door was opened using sophisticated methods. Since the door cannot be easily closed by slamming it, it was left ajar. All valuable items in the office were left intact, but some confidential files concerning the Lebanese detainees in Syria, which were stored in filing cabinets, were apparently carefully examined since they were found on a table.
On Thursday morning, and at the request of the office managers, the ISF came to record the theft and take fingerprints. They were followed by several Security Services whose mandate is categorically not to investigate this matter. Indeed, soon after the ISF left the office, three armed military personnel showed up at the office inquiring about happened. The next day, Friday, three men in Municipal Police uniforms came inquiring about the mission of the organization. In the afternoon, a SOLIDA official received a call on their cell phone from General Security inquiring about the legality of SOLIDA’s status in Lebanon and wanting to know about its potential “political enemies”. Finally, Saturday, the Al-Akhbar daily, citing sources close to the Interior Ministry, published an article according to which SOLIDA allegedly obtained its information from a former Lebanese Security official living in Paris and whom the organization contacted by way of his wife…
SOLIDA believes that all these actions are acts of intimidation against Human Rights defenders whose sole mission is to denounce violations, regardless of who the victims or the presumed authors of such violations may be. SOLIDA calls on the Lebanese Authorities to immediately cease their intimidations, to uncover and apprehend those responsible for the theft, and to implement the recommendations made in the report so that the practice of torture in Lebanon becomes a thing of the past.
