Alkarama, Human Rights Watch, Alef, Restart Center, Frontiers, KRC Khiam and the Lebanese Center for Human Rights (CLDH), revealed that at least 27 prisoners were killed in prisons and detention centers in Lebanon since 2007. Some of the deaths raise doubts about the possibility of criminal acts by officials inside the prisons, while others point to the negligence of prison guards or lack of medical care to prisoners.
 
The signatories have asked the Minister of Interior to investigate into the mentioned deaths and give instructions so that an autopsy be automatically performed on any person deceased during detention. These autopsies should be conducted in a transparent matter and the results promptly communicated to the concerned parties. The prison officials must also be held accountable in the event of illegal actions or neglect. The organizations also recommended that an audit be conducted on the procedures applied in medical care in prisons and detention centers.

In their letter, the organizations have recalled that torture and ill-treatment remain serious problems in Lebanese prisons. Many testimonies have been collected by our organizations about prisoners reported as victims of abuse or torture, most notably in the information section of the Internal Security Forces, and its Habish, Zahl and Jal Dib centers. Despite the fact that section 401 of the Lebanese penal code criminalizes the use of violence to extort a confession, we find that this statutory provision is often ignored in practice.

The signatories also asked the Minister of Interior to give clear instructions to members of the security forces, and to inform them that it will not be tolerated to practice torture and ill-treatment and that violators will be punished according to the law. It was also requested to immediately undertake impartial investigations in the light of credible reports of detainees being tortured or killed, and prosecute, where appropriate, all those responsible, whatever their rank.