All requests for information by his lawyer to the General Security were simply dismissed. In view of these facts, Alkarama sent on 17 June 2016 his case to the United Nations Working Group on Enforced Disappearances (WGEID) hoping it will help disclose his whereabouts.

Following his arrest by members of the General Security in October 2014, Malaz was detained incommunicado, severely tortured and charged on 11 November 2014 with acts of terrorism on the basis of confessions extracted under torture. Sentenced on 11 May 2016 by the Military Court in Beirut, Malaz's case was referred to the Juvenile Court of North Lebanon sitting in Tripoli for it to determine the appropriate punishment, since he was a minor when the alleged facts occurred. On 26 May 2016, this Court issued a release decision, pending a final determination of the length of his sentence.

Therefore, on 27 May 2016, and according to the procedures applying to Syrian nationals, Malaz was handed over to the General Security in Adlieh, Beirut, which had to proceed with his release. However, as days passed and Malaz had not been released, his lawyer inquired about him at the General Security, which refused to provide him with any information on his fate. Nevertheless, according to informal sources, Malaz would have been handed over to the military police in early June. On 16 June 2016, a new hearing on Malaz's case was held at the Juvenile Justice Court of North Lebanon, but he was never brought in the courtroom.

"We are extremely concerned about Malaz's disappearance for almost a month," says Inès Osman, Legal Coordinator at Alkarama. "As a Syrian national sentenced in a terrorism case, and having already been subjected to torture, Malaz is at high risk of being subjected to similar acts again while disappeared. The Lebanese authorities have a legal obligation to officially provide his family and lawyer with information on his fate and whereabouts at the soonest."

Alkarama therefore raised Malaz's case with the WGEID hoping its intervention with the Lebanese authorities will help shed light on his fate and whereabouts.

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