Naharnet - Human Rights Groups: Lebanon Must Stop Torture, November 6, 2008

Lebanon must take concrete measures to stop alleged torture in detention centers and submit a full report to the United Nations that was due seven years ago, human rights groups said on Wednesday.The appeal was made by eight Lebanese and international human rights groups including the New York-based watchdog Human Rights Watch."Torture and ill-treatment remain a serious problem in Lebanese detention facilities," and Lebanon must take "concrete and public measures" to put an end to it, a joint statement said."Lebanon ratified the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment in 2000, but it has yet to submit a report that was due seven years ago, on November 4, 2001, about the measures it is taking to comply," the statement added.Six Lebanese groups, including the Lebanese Association for Human Rights, signed the statement along with Human Rights Watch and the Canada-based non-government organization Public Interest Advocacy Center.The eight said that cases of alleged torture increased in Lebanon after a fierce 15-week battle between the army and the al-Qaida-inspired Fatah al-Islam group at the northern Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared in 2007."The number of reports of alleged torture increased substantially during the 2007 Nahr al-Bared battle... with more than 200 individuals telling human rights groups that members of the Lebanese army beat or tortured them," the statement said."Despite these numerous allegations, the judiciary rarely investigates torture claims, and accountability for torture in detention remains elusive."The human rights groups urged the Lebanese parliament to amend its penal code "to criminalize all forms of torture... and to make the crime of torture punishable by a heavier sentence than the current maximum of three years."