Lebanon: A Year Later, No Accountability for Killings

(Beirut) - One year after the outbreak of fighting between opposition and pro-government groups that left at least 110 people dead, Lebanese authorities have yet to make public the results of their investigations into the killings of civilians, Human Rights Watch said today. So far, the judiciary has issued only one indictment against an individual who shot at civilians, while other investigations have stalled, with no prosecutions to date.

The fighting began in Beirut on May 7, 2008, killing at least 71 people in the first two weeks, including at least 14 civilians. Fighters on both sides attacked civilians and civilian property. While the groups signed a political settlement in Doha on May 21, they failed to address abuses committed during the fighting. Sporadic clashes continued for another three months in the Beka` and the north, killing another 40 people, including civilians.

"Lebanon's past conflicts make it clear that agreements to stop fighting will not last if they sweep punishment for attacks on civilians under the rug," said Nadim Houry, senior researcher at Human Rights Watch. "The only way to break this cycle is for the Lebanese people to hold those responsible accountable."

During the fighting, Human Rights Watch visited areas where civilians were killed and often saw Lebanese police and military conducting their own investigations. However, in almost all cases, the investigations have stalled, and the judiciary has taken no further steps. The lawyer for the family of one of the victims killed in Beirut told Human Rights Watch: "The investigation disappeared. Every time we asked where the investigation stood, they say they did not know where the file was. The truth is that they don't want to find out."

Another lawyer, Elie Ghassan, who represents the Syrian Socialist Nationalist Party, members of which died in the northern town of Halba after being beaten and ill-treated by gunmen, expressed similar frustration. He told Human Rights Watch: "We gave the prosecutor videotapes showing those who killed our members. We even gave them the names of those who appear in the film. Yet, nothing has happened. The file is frozen."

"With the evidence that serious crimes took place last year, it is difficult to understand why the investigations are not leading to anything," Houry said. "The Lebanese authorities should come clean and explain where the investigations stand."

Human Rights Watch has been able to find evidence of only one indictment so far in connection with the violence in May 2008. In September, the First Investigative Judge in Beirut, Abdel Rahim Hammud, issued an indictment against an individual accused of killing two civilians and wounding six others after an altercation broke out during a funeral procession in Tarik al-Jdideh, Beirut on May 10. In other incidents, the police and army detained other individuals on suspicion of possessing weapons and explosives, but released many of them shortly thereafter.

Lebanon: Investigate Syrian Opposition Figure’s Fate

"Lebanon has a painful history of people being detained and illegally transferred to Syria, where they disappear..."The best way to show that these dark days are over is for the Lebanese authorities to conduct a transparent and serious investigation of the case."

Nadim Houry, senior researcher at Human Rights Watch

Nawar `Abboud Disappeared Following Detention by Military Intelligence

Lebanese authorities should disclose all available information on the whereabouts of Nawar `Abboud, who disappeared three months ago after Lebanese Military Intelligence detained him in Tropoli, Human Rights Watch and the Lebanese Center for Human Rights (CLDH) said today. Following a request for information by the general prosecutor, Military Intelligence stated on February 11, 2009 that they released `Abboud, a Syrian opposition figure, on December 25, 2008, but he has not been since.

`Abboud is an accountant in United National Alliance, a political group affiliated with Ref`at al-Asad, a Syrian opposition figure and uncle of the Syrian president, Bashar al-Asad. Abboud's family and colleagues fear he may have been forcibly transferred to Syria.

"Lebanon has a painful history of people being detained and illegally transferred to Syria, where they disappear," said Nadim Houry, senior researcher at Human Rights Watch. "The best way to show that these dark days are over is for the Lebanese authorities to conduct a transparent and serious investigation of the case."

On December 24, plainclothes members of the Lebanese Military Intelligence came to Abboud's office in Tripoli and took him, along with two Lebanese employees, to the al-Qubbeh military base for interrogation. Lebanese Military Intelligence released the two Lebanese - one on December 24 and the other on December 26. They also stated that they released `Abboud at 14:20 on December 25 and that his possessions were returned to him, including his two cars, which Military Intelligence had seized.

However, `Abboud's family and colleagues have not seen him or located his cars despite extensive efforts to find him. According to a letter dated January 14 from General Security (the security agency responsible for foreigners and border crossings in Lebanon), there is no record of `Abboud leaving Lebanon through an official border crossing.

When the media asked the ministers of justice and interior about Abboud's disappearance, they deferred to the General Prosecutor's Office. In a televised interview on the Arabic News Network (ANN), Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar stated that the General Prosecutor's Office is undertaking an investigation into `Abboud's disappearance, but did not give further information. For his part, Minister of Interior Ziad Baroud told the Kuwaiti newspaper al-Ra'i on February 11 that: "When the General Prosecutor is seized of a matter, I do not intervene."

Following a request for information by `Abboud's lawyer, the General Prosecutor's Office has repeated the army's statement that its intelligence services released `Abboud on December 25.

"The General Prosecutor's investigation cannot limit itself to what the army has said," said Marie Daunay, president of CLDH. "The investigation needs to dig deeper and shed light about the circumstances surrounding `Abboud's alleged release and subsequent whereabouts."

On March 5, Human Rights Watch sent a letter to the ministers of defense, interior and justice to request that military intelligence provide further details about the whereabouts of `Abboud. To date, no answer has been received.