Tarek Rabaa, a Lebanese engineer detained since July 2010 on conspiracy charges, will again be brought before the military court next Friday, 7 June. Not only is he still detained without being found guilty close to three years after his arrest, but flaws such as the judiciary's failure to order investigations into the allegations of torture, which were raised repeatedly, cast doubt on the fairness of his trial. As his health situation continues to deteriorate, Alkarama and CLDH reiterate their calls to the Lebanese authorities to grant Tarek Rabaa his right to a fair trial and consider his immediate release pending trial. To support these demands, we informed the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture of Mr Rabaa's situation on 30 May 2013.
Mr. Tarek Rabaa has been on hunger strike for 2 weeks. The undersigned organizations demand his immediate release pending trial, which would effectively end the excessive period of pre-trial detention for which he has been held. Furthermore, we are extremely concerned by the continuation of his trial in front of the military court as well as by the lack of investigation into the alleged torture he might have been subjected to, and that our organizations raised in a press release in 2011.