MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd March, 2021) Hundreds of Syrian refugees who fled to Lebanon in a bid to escape the atrocities of the ongoing civil war were arbitrarily detained on terrorism-related charges and tortured in the recipient country since 2014, a prominent human rights watchdog said on Tuesday.
Earlier in the day, Amnesty International released a damning report � "I wish I would die": Syrian refugees detained on terrorism-related charges and tortured in Lebanon � that documents series of violations committed by the Lebanese military against 26 Syrian refugees, including women and children, based on interviews with former and current detainees. The report highlights fair trial violations and torture, including beatings with metal sticks, electric cables, and plastic pipes.
"Lebanese security forces have committed shocking violations against Syrian refugees who have been arrested, often arbitrarily, on terrorism-related charges, employing some of the same atrocious torture techniques that are used in Syria's most notorious prisons," the rights group said in a press statement.
The rights group also said that the Lebanese authorities disregarded international human rights law at every stage, from arrest to prosecution in unfair trials, calling Beirut's violation of the right to due process "a mockery of justice."
"Detainees said they faced some of the same torture techniques routinely used in Syrian prisons such as the 'flying carpet' (being strapped on a foldable board), 'shabeh' (when an individual is suspended by wrists and beaten), or 'balango,' which involves an individual being suspended for hours with wrists tied behind their backs." the press statement read.
The group also said that no torture allegations documented in the report were investigated by the Lebanese authorities, even in cases when detainees or their lawyers told judges they had been tortured, adding that security officers sometimes requested the delay of court sessions leading to the loss of scars from beatings or other forms of torture that could have proved the detainees right.
"The Lebanese authorities must immediately implement their own anti-torture law and respect their obligations under international human rights law. They must ensure that torture allegations are effectively investigated and that those responsible for these horrendous abuses are held accountable," Researcher on Refugee and Migrants Rights at Amnesty International Marie Forestier was quoted as saying.
Lebanon ratified the Convention Against Torture (CAT) and its Optional Protocol in 2000 and 2008, respectively. In accordance with its CAT obligation, Beirut also passed an anti-torture law in 2017 that makes torture a criminal offense. However, according to Amnesty International and other international rights groups, the middle Eastern country has consistently failed to implement it, as they regularly report on torture cases, saying that relevant complaints rarely reach court.
