Amnesty International Report 1994 - Lebanon

Dozens of people were arrested on security grounds: some were held without charge or trial before being released uncharged but others were brought to court. Those arrested included possible prisoners of conscience. New reports of torture and ill-treatment were received. Nine people were killed by government forces during an apparently peaceful demonstration. The fate of thousands of people who had been abducted by armed groups in previous years remained unclarified. One death sentence was passed but had not been carried out by the end of the year. The Lebanese army continued to extend its deployment and bring under government jurisdiction territory previously controlled by various armed militias. However, a "security zone" along the Lebanese/Israeli border extending northwards to the Jezzine region remained under the control of the South Lebanon Army (SLA) militia and Israeli armed forces. Hizbullah, the main active militia opposing the SLA and Israeli troops inside Lebanon, controlled areas of south Lebanon. Syrian forces remained deployed throughout most of the country, particularly in the centre and north, with the agreement of the Lebanese Government. In July, following increased clashes between Israel, the SLA and Hizbullah, Israeli forces bombarded extensive areas of south Lebanon for a week and Hizbullah fired rockets into northern Israel. Israeli officials indicated that the bombardment was aimed at forcing civilians to leave the area and to put pressure on the Lebanese Government to prevent Hizbullah from carrying out attacks against Israel. About 130 Lebanese and Palestinians, including civilians, as well as two Israeli civilians were killed in the attacks before a cease-fire agreement was reached. Amnesty International called on both sides to end any deliberate targeting of civilians. Dozens of suspected political opponents were arrested by government forces and Syrian personnel stationed in Lebanon. They included possible prisoners of conscience. In March about 40 supporters of General Michel 'Aoun, a former military leader who was ousted in 1990 by Lebanese and Syrian forces, were arrested in connection with the distribution of leaflets opposing the Syrian presence in Lebanon. Most were released shortly afterwards, but eight remained in incommunicado detention for several weeks. Four of them were later released without charge. The other four, Michel al-Haje, Pierre Najm, 'Imad Shahin and Georges Za'anni, were charged and then released. Amnesty International could not confirm if they were brought to trial. Elie Mahfoud, a lawyer and President of the Mouvement du Changement, Movement for Change, an organization which supports General 'Aoun, was arrested in July and held for about a week. He was released without charge. His arrest was reportedly connected to a statement he had made about the existence of political prisoners in Lebanon. Dozens of alleged supporters of General 'Aoun and others were detained in October and December, some by Syrian personnel. They included 'Ubad Zwayn, who was reportedly beaten severely while being interrogated for three days in October in two Syrian detention centres in Lebanon and then released. A complaint about his allegations was submitted to the Lebanese authorities, but no response was received. In April and May, in a clamp-down on the press during which three newspapers were temporarily closed, four journalists and a cartoonist were charged before the Publications Court with various offences in connection with articles published in the newspapers. Proceedings against two were suspended in July, but the trials of the others had not been concluded by the end of the year. All faced sentences of up to three years' imprisonment if convicted. At least five members of the Lebanese Forces (LF), a Christian militia, were reportedly arrested in August on suspicion of having spread negative propaganda about the Israeli bombardment of south Lebanon in July. Three were released without charge but two of them - Georges al-'Alam and Georges Shehadeh - were detained for interrogation and in September were charged with killing seven military personnel in previous years. Initially, security sources reportedly said that they would not be charged as the crimes were covered by the General Amnesty Law of 1991, but the Public Prosecutor held that the crimes had been committed for personal and vindictive motives and hence were not covered by the law. Both men were apparently still in custody at the end of the year. No information was received about 20 lf members who had been awaiting trial for state security offences at the end of 1992 (see Amnesty International Report 1993). In November Samir Nasr, a possible prisoner of conscience, was detained in the Ministry of Defence and charged in connection with alleged links between the Guardians of the Cedar, a political party, and Israel. He complained of ill-treatment, including blows to the face and threats. His trial began in December. Four supporters of General 'Aoun who had been arrested in November 1992 (see Amnesty International Report 1993) were released in January. They and eight others faced charges including distribution of leaflets. Their trial was postponed indefinitely in April. New reports of torture and ill-treatment of detainees were received, including the cases of 'Ubad Zwayn and Samir Nasr. In one case a man deported from a European country was allegedly beaten and given electric shocks after being arrested in Beirut several times between February and April, possibly by Syrian officers stationed in Lebanon. In September government forces killed nine people and injured about 30 others during an apparently peaceful demonstration in Beirut organized by Hizbullah to protest against the signing of the Declaration of Principles between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). All demonstrations had been banned in July. The government set up an investigation into the incident but no details of its methods or findings were known. In April Bassam Saleh al-Muslah was sentenced to death on conviction of raping and murdering a seven-year-old girl in January. The execution was not carried out. As in previous years the SLA held over 200 prisoners at any one time in the Khiam detention centre in the "security zone" in south Lebanon. About 30 men and women were released from the centre during the year. Most detainees were suspected of being members of armed groups opposing Israel and the SLA, and many were believed to have been tortured during interrogation. The detainees were held outside any legal framework and without access to their families or the International Committee of the Red Cross. Amnesty International continued to be concerned that some or all of those detained at Khiam might be held as hostages. In June Fatah, the main faction of the PLO, released 78 members of the Fatah Revolutionary Council, a Palestinian group headed by Abu Nidal. They had been held in the context of clashes between the two groups in Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon. Twelve members of the Fatah Revolutionary Council apparently remained in detention in the 'Ain al-Helwah camp at the end of the year. At least two had been sentenced to death by a PLO court, but their sentences were not carried out. Little information was received about the fate of thousands of people who had been taken prisoner by armed groups since 1975. They included Palestinians, Syrians and other nationals, although the large majority were Lebanese. Butros 'Atmeh, a Lebanese Christian who had been abducted in Tibnin in August 1992 (see Amnesty International Report 1993), was released in March. The fate of another man abducted at the same time remained unknown. No information was received about the fate of Butros Khawand, a member of the Political Bureau of the Phalange Party, who had been abducted in September 1992 (see Amnesty International Report 1993). Of four Israeli soldiers still missing in Lebanon since 1982 and 1986, at least one, Ron Arad, may have been alive and secretly held by Iranian Revolutionary Guards in Lebanon or held in Syria. Dozens of people were deliberately killed, apparently for political reasons, but there was rarely sufficient information to determine those responsible. In March Hizbullah released Elias al-'Asmar and the body of Naji Kan'an. Both were SLA members who had been taken prisoner in November 1989. Naji Kan'an's killing while in custody had been announced shortly after his capture. In April and November, Yunes 'Awad and Mou'in Shabayleh, both senior Fatah officials, were killed by unknown assailants. Amnesty International called for the release of any prisoners of conscience and sought information about arrests, including clarification of the procedures by which Syrian personnel stationed in Lebanon may detain people. It also called for impartial and thorough investigations into allegations of torture and the killings of demonstrators in September, asking for the official guidelines on opening fire to be reviewed to ensure their consistency with international standards. In April the organization urged the authorities to commute the death sentence on Bassam al-Muslah. Amnesty International sought information from the governments of Lebanon, Iran and Syria about the fate of several people who went missing in Lebanon in previous years, fearing that they might have been killed or be held as hostages, but received no response. In an oral statement to the UN Commission on Human Rights in February, Amnesty International called for the release of detainees in Khiam as well as SLA members and Israeli soldiers, who may be held as hostages. It also called for their protection against any form of ill-treatment.