ONGI - statut consultatif à l’ECOSOC - N.U. Membre correspondant de la FIDH
Membre du réseau euromed des droits de l’Homme

Tél. 961-3-293-693 Email. eha.ndhl@netgate.com.lb

ACTION ALERT FOLLOW UP #7 / August 24, 2001

Following our two action alerts (August 7 & 20, 2001) concerning the arbitrary arrests in Lebanon and the unfair trials, please find hereafter the latest developments:

1. On August 23^rd, Mr. Habib Yunes who was detained in the ministry of defense was referred to the military court on charges of "contacting Israeli officials". On that same day, Mrs. Claude Hajjar (arrested on Sunday 20^st) was released after a 3 days’ detention.

2. Till now, five persons (refer to follow up #6) are supposed to appear before the military court on charges of "establishing political contacts with Israeli officials". The sentence can be death penalty if found guilty.

3. Yesterday (August 23^rd), one of the five persons, Mr. Tufic Hindy denied during his interrogation by the military prosecutor all the acts that he confessed during the primary interrogation in the ministry of defense. He said that he was subject to intense pressure and had no choice but to admit.

4. All former detainees confirmed that the interrogation procedure in the ministry of defense is not reliable given the intense physical and moral pressure exerted on the detainees, despite the fact that there were no reports so far of "extremely harsh physical torture".

5. We will provide you with further information on the court hearings as soon as they start. There are no more detainees in the ministry of defense. All of them have been referred to the military court.