Beirut - The Lebanese government should investigate the seizure of a human rights lawyer's passport by General Security, a group of 16 Lebanese and international human rights organizations said today.

Faced with these threats and allegations, Taha Mohamed had no other choice than to comply and deliver himself to the SSI building in Fayoum.

Following the prolonged house inspection, Said Talafaha was taken to a security centre where criminal investigators and General Security officers tied him down and lambasted his legs and arms with work tools.

Abd Al-Aziz Sayir Al-Shamri is currently being harassed by Kuwaiti authorities, due to his previous imprisonment at Guantanamo Bay. He was handed over to the American forces by the Pakistani authorities during the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan, and subsequently transferred to Guantanamo Bay prison.

Twenty-one human rights organisations have signed the following press release as a result of deep concerns for the deteriorating health of Syrian lawyer, Mr. Haitham Al-Maleh, currently held against his will at Damascus Central Prison (Adra).

Malik Medjnoun is accused of involvement in the June 1998 assassination of Matoub Lounes, which he has always denied. He was abducted near his home on 28 September 1999 by the DRS and held incommunicado at DRS barracks near "Antar", Ben Aknoun (Algiers).

Beirut - Lebanon should release migrants and refugees who remain in detention despite having finished their sentences, a group of 14 Lebanese and international human rights organizations said yesterday in a letter to top officials. The letter to the president, prime minister and justice and interior ministers says there is no legal basis for continuing to detain most of these prisoners.