On 30 July 2014, Alkarama wrote to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention to bring to its attention the cases of Tarek Mostafa Marei and Abdel Karim Al Mustafa, two Lebanese citizens sentenced on 6 August 2013 to 15 years in prison after a trial marred with serious violations. This communication follows an urgent appeal sent to the Special Rapporteur on Torture in March 2011 requesting his intervention with the Lebanese authorities to ask that Marei's confession obtained under torture not be used in his judgment.

Stop torture of migrants and refugees!

Respect the Convention Against Torture

Today, on June 26, on the occasion of the International Day in support of Victims of Torture, our organizations are calling the authorities of Lebanon to:

1. Close immediately the General Security detention center in Adlieh
2. Stop using administrative detention as a method of torture against migrants, asylum seekers and refugees
3. Release immediately any asylum seeker or refugee detained for the sole reason of his/her illegal entry or stay
4. Stop immediately deporting refugees to countries where they are at risk of torture

Jemaa Ahmad Massini and Alaeddine Moussa Ibrahim are two young Syrians living in Lebanon. They were arrested in February 2009 by agents of the internal security forces in Dora Street, North-East Beirut.

As they were held incommunicado, they might have been subjected to torture in order to elicit confessions. After eight consecutive days of ill-treatment and without any contact with the outside world or legal assistance, the two young men might have given up and sign documents that were presented to the Lebanese judiciary as confessions.

Nahr Al Bared is a Palestinian refugee camp located in Northern Lebanon. From May to September 2007, it was the scene of clashes between the regular Lebanese forces and Fatah Al Islam, an armed radical group, which led to the death of at least 300 civilians and the displacement of thousands of others. Following a vast operation, hundreds of people were arrested and to date, 87 of them are still arbitrarily detained or prosecuted for supposedly supporting this group.