ISF Slams HRW Report on Alleged Rights Violations at Lebanon's Police Stations

The Internal Security Forces criticized on Monday a recent Human Rights Watch report on alleged abuses at police stations in Lebanon, saying that any violations are individual incidents.

It slammed in a statement the “defamation against the ISF”, calling on organizations to document abuses and present their cases before concerned authorities.

“The ISF has worked hard to implement the principles of human rights approved in international treaties and local laws,” it added.

“It has worked hard in the past few years to achieve a qualitative shift in this field because it believes that security work no longer relies on oppression and fear, but it adopts modern methods and respects all aspects of human rights,” it continued.

On this note, it said that a main aspect of the security forces' duties relies on respecting human dignity and rights.

It therefore demanded an investigation into claims of abuse at police stations, saying that the allegations will remain so until they are proven to be true.

Moreover, these claims contradict the Code of Criminal Procedure, issued in 2001, which stipulates that any suspect is innocent until proven guilty, said the statement.

“Accusing the security forces of rights abuses without conducting an investigation to refute these claims is a violation of the above principle and it therefore negatively affects the ISF,” it stated.

It added that the ISF human rights branch did not receive any oral or written complaint on abuses, saying: “We encourage HRW to submit complaints instead of making due with statements and allegations.”

On HRW's claims that suspects of homosexuality were abused, the ISF said: “This phenomenon is unacceptable on a social level and it is criminal offense in Lebanon.”

“Individual freedom is not absolute and it should be bound by certain regulations in accordance to the laws, norms, and traditions of each country,” it explained.

It quoted an article from the Universal Declaration for Human Rights that says that each person's freedom and rights are bound by laws in a manner that ensures that the rights of others are also maintained.

“The ISF is obligated to tackle homosexuality as long as the law considers it to be a criminal offense,” it stressed.

“We wonder to what extent human rights can be respected in a country that is passing through such difficult circumstances as Lebanon,” it added.

“We admit that respecting human rights in Lebanon in general, especially at the ISF, needs to be improved and any violations that happen are individual incidents that are an exception to our values,” it concluded.

Lebanese police are torturing vulnerable people being held in custody, including drug users, sex workers and homosexuals, HRW charged in a new report on June 26.

"Abuse is common in Lebanon's police stations, but it is even worse for people like drug users or sex workers," the New York-based group's deputy Middle East director Nadim Houry said.

The rights group interviewed more than 50 people arrested in the past five years for suspected drug use, sex work or homosexuality, most of whom reported various types of abuse and torture.

Some detainees described being denied food, water and medication as well as phone calls to family members and access to legal representation.

The group urged Lebanon to uphold the Convention against Torture and create an independent body to monitor detention centers.

It also called on the government to "revise its Code of Criminal Procedure to better safeguard the rights of detainees and repeal laws criminalizing homosexuality, drug use and sex work."

HRW said donor countries that have invested money to equip and train Lebanon's security forces "should ensure that their aid supports the development of internal oversight and accountability mechanisms."