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Lebanon: Release of Faysal Ghazi Moqalled after 11 years in arbitrary detention

Beirut, Paris, Lyon, Copenhagen – Our organizations welcome the release on Sunday 5 February of Faysal Ghazi Moqalled, who spent 11 years in arbitrary detention.

On October 2016, the Military Court of Cassation indeed reconsidered his life sentence for collaborating with the enemy –  a judgement based on confessions extracted under torture – commuting the sentence down to fourteen years’ imprisonment (9-month custodial years).

Our organizations, however, strongly condemn the unfairness of the decision which did not take into account any of the several violations throughout proceedings that jeopardized the case (including 2 years in detention with no access to lawyer), the serious ill-treatment and torture inflicted on Faysal Moqalled (resulting in knocked-out teeth and several injuries), the intervention of the United Nations Special rapporteur on torture towards the Lebanese government, nor any of the exculpatory evidence.

All of these elements should have led to the outright annulment of the trial in first instance, bringing those responsible of torture to justice and granting compensation to Mr. Moqalled for the harm suffered.

  • Lebanese Center for Human Rights (CLDH)
  • ACAT-France (Action by Christians Against Torture)
  • Working Together for Human Rights (AEDH)
  • International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH)
  • EuroMed Rights