Advocacy / Lebanon
Lebanon: Syrian Refugee Apparently Tortured to Death
In a joint statement published on September 26, 2022, Human Rights Watch, Legal Agenda, Amnesty International, and MENA Rights Group affirmed that the Lebanese authorities should transfer the prosecution of security force members charged in the torture and murder of a Syrian refugee from inherently unfair military courts to the ordinary criminal courts.
Press release on the situation of Syrian detainees and prisoners in Lebanon
The Lebanese State Security arrested the Syrian refugee Bashar Abdel Saoud on 30 August 2022. Abdel Saoud was tortured to death by a number of officers and soldiers. The victim's photo, which shows clear signs of torture on his body, was leaked and spread over social media platforms. While several press reports confirmed that Bashar Abdel Saoud had been subjected to brutal torture, burns, and bruises - all over his body - caused by severe beatings and flogging with metal wires.
Joint Statement to Lebanese Authorities: Enforce Lebanon’s Anti-Torture Law
On the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, we, the undersigned organizations, call on the Lebanese authorities to effectively protect everyone in its territory, including those in detention, from torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment. The authorities should investigate all allegations of torture and ill-treatment and the perpetrators of such acts should be prosecuted, brought to trial and, if found guilty, sentenced to appropriate punishment.
Joint letter calling on the Lebanese authorities for an independent, impartial, and transparent investigation into the causes of the recent shipwreck off the coast of Tripoli
A coalition of eight human rights organisations is calling on the Lebanese authorities to conduct an independent, impartial and transparent investigation into the causes of the recent shipwreck off Tripoli on April 23, 2022.
Urgent appeal: Rights organizations call on Lebanese authorities to cease the intimidation of human rights lawyer Mohammed Sablouh
Human rights organizations are gravely concerned by the Lebanese authorities’ recent attempts to silence and discredit Mohammed Sablouh, a human rights lawyer defending victims of torture and Syrian refugees facing deportation. The actions of the Lebanese authorities represent an unacceptable infringement on the work of lawyers and other human rights defenders, in light of Lebanon’s ongoing failure to meet its legal obligations to prevent and punish the use of torture and to abide by the principle of non-refoulement.
Joint letter to the Human Rights Council calling for an international investigative mission into the Beirut blast
In a joint letter, MENA Rights and 38 human rights groups, survivors of the Beirut Blast, families of victims and individuals sent an urgent appeal to the UN Human Rights Council urging the council to establish an investigative body into the explosion, as Lebanon leaders continue to obstruct domestic inquiry.
Six Syrian nationals face imminent deportation from Lebanon to Syria
Six Syrian nationals are currently at risk of being deported from Lebanon to Syria where they could face torture. If implemented, their deportation would constitute a serious breach of Lebanon’s obligation of non-refoulement.