29.1.08

"UN Declares as “Arbitrary” the Detention of Four Officers and Four Civilians in Hariri Case"

From the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network (EMHRN) website.

The information is clouded in mystery. It is also posted on the website of Réseau Voltaire.
I don't know who the EMHRN are. They have posted two links to the full french version of the UN document but the links are not accessible to non members as it seems. I was able to obtain from the site of their foundation the list of representatives on the foundation...I wouldn't be surprised if the UN report isn't easily accessible but we still need the original document in order to confirm this information...

UPDATE: Now the French version mentioned for the document can be accessed from what it seems to be the official blog (?) of the Lebanese center for Human Rights (CLDH) but there are no names on it. We still don't know who produced this document. The Universal Human Rights Index of United Nations Documents, which lists all UN documents concerning violations of Human Rights by country, has entries for Lebanon (scroll the page until the end), but only for violation of the rights of foreign domestic workers. There is no mention of the document at the website page of the University of Pittsburg's school of law devoted to all legal documents concerning the Hariri tribunal. It is becoming pretty much clear to me that those who published the information must come up with clear sources and names, even though one might believe that the UN might hold back such negative documents on the working of one of its commissions. Otherwise, what follows should only be considered as a rumor, for the time being.
Almost a year ago, the Lebanese Center for Human Rights (CLDH)with the support of the International Federation of Human Rights Leagues (FIDH) submitted a formal request to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention – a group of independent experts – for its opinion on the detention of eight individuals in the Hariri case.

The answer of the UN Working Group is unambiguous: This is an instance of a Category III arbitrary detention. Once again, the Lebanese judiciary and government have been repudiated.

“The deprivation of freedom of Jamil El Sayed, Moustapha Hamdane, Raymond Azar, Ali El Haj, Ayman Tarabay, Moustapha Talal Mesto, Ahmad Abdel Aa l et Mahmoud Abdel Aal is arbitrary in that it contravenes the provisions of Articles 9 and 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which Lebanon is a party, and it falls under Category III among those categories that are applicable to the consideration of cases submitted to the Working Group.
Having expressed this opinion, the Working Group urges the government to take the necessary measures to remedy the situation of these individuals in accordance with the norms and principles set forth in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.”

CLDH is dismayed at the prolonged inaction by the Lebanese judiciary insofar as the individuals who are the subject of the UN Working Group’s opinion remain in detention.

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