Articles for Lebanon

LEBANON: Military court sentences reporter in absentia to six months in prison

Rami_AyshaReporters Without Borders and the Swiss-based human rights NGO Alkarama condemn the six-month jail sentence that Lebanese journalist Rami Aysha received in absentia from a Beirut military court last week on a charge of purchasing firearms.
Arrested on 30 August 2012 while researching a story on arms trafficking in Beirut's southern suburbs, Aysha was released a month later pending trial.
06 Dec 2013
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Judicial confusion continues to threaten freedom of information

Reporters Without Borders and the Swiss-based human rights NGO Alkarama deplore the two-week jail sentence that a Beirut military court passed on 9 December on the journalist Rami Aysha on a charge of buying firearms, replacing the six-month sentence he received when tried in absentia last month.

Aysha, who attended the 9 December hearing, left the court a free man because he was deemed to have already served the sentence when detained for a month after his arrest in August 2012.

02 Dec 2013
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Lebanon has to criminalize torture! A call to the Lebanese Deputies

As we approach the International Human Rights Day on December 10, our organizations join efforts to call again upon the Lebanese authorities to criminalize the practice of torture.

Lebanon ratified the Convention against Torture in 2000 and reaffirmed its resolve to combat torture when acceding to the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture in 2008. However, the practice of torture still prevails.

02 Dec 2013
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Lebanon: Secret Detentions Following the Clashes in Saida

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Following the outbreak of clashes in Saida on 23 and 24 June, which lead to numerous casualties, the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) conducted searches in the city and its surroundings. During these operations, at least 140 individuals were arrested and at least 27 remain currently in detention.
05 Jul 2013
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Lebanon: UN Special Rapporteur on Torture updated on Tarek Rabaa's situation

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Investigate torture allegations, release Tarek Rabaa pending trial

Tarek Rabaa, a Lebanese engineer detained since July 2010 on conspiracy charges, will again be brought before the military court next Friday, 7 June.

05 Jun 2013
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Lebanon: Two weeks of hunger strike for Mr. Tarek Rabaa

LEB_Tarek_RabaaHuman rights organizations demand his immediate release

Mr. Tarek Rabaa has been on hunger strike for 2 weeks. The undersigned organizations demand his immediate release pending trial, which would effectively end the excessive period of pre-trial detention for which he has been held.

15 May 2013
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Lebanon : Imminent extradition of Syrian deserter following order from Military court of Beirut

Mohamad Hassan Tlass, a former officer of the Syrian Air Force Intelligence Services, was arrested by Lebanese security services on 6 December 2012. He reportedly defected from the Syrian army in August 2011 and is today facing imminent extradition to Syria following a decision issued on 4 February 2013 by the Beirut Military Court. If he is forcible returned, he risks being tortured and executed for desertion.
12 Feb 2013
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Lebanon: Risk of unfair trial for the Nahr Al Bared detainees

Following the events of Nahr Al Bared in 2007, several hundred persons were arrested on suspicion of belonging to, or having ties with, the Islamist group Fatah Al Islam. Six years after the incident, the Lebanese authorities have now announced the beginning of their trial in form of preliminary hearings for tomorrow, 8 February 2013. After this excessive period of pre-trial detention, during which many inmates report having been tortured, it is the Lebanese Judicial Council, a court of exception, who will hear their case.
07 Feb 2013
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Lebanon: UN Working Group calls for immediate release of woman inmate from Baabda prison

When Mrs Badria Abu Meri was arrested in May 2010, media reported that she had been taken into custody for her own protection although she was in fact summoned on alleged implication in a crime. Years later, she remains in Baabda prison – after being tortured and held without sentence for over 32 months.
24 Jan 2013
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Lebanon: Human Rights Organizations Demand the Lebanese authorities to put an end to Security Agencies' violations against foreigners

Illegal and racist practices against foreign workers or refugees in Lebanon are on the rise. The latest example in this regard took place on the evening of 7 October as members of the Lebanese Army raided the homes of 70 Syrian, Egyptian and Sudanese workers in Beirut in response to a complaint by some residents against these workers of "harassing the girls and disturbing the residents". The workers were beaten during the raid.
Assaulting individuals and their privacy is totally unacceptable regardless of whether it was done by nationals or foreigners.
18 Oct 2012
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