tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83998945280439635492024-03-05T14:55:17.936-08:00Youssef Chaabanewww.cldh-lebanon.orghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12861105264067625300noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399894528043963549.post-27401533839912124022009-07-13T01:53:00.000-07:002009-07-14T03:03:54.967-07:00Youssef's release !!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3v3EAoZ9y2Hd64bs0nQLudkt58auWaKefzQcgB74Y6ElrM3Ht6V1eW8XWDGAF-ZC6Q5jZwYY-hCnHlFNNxmZOp0WYJjjxNSk1u57EDJl1XMmup7dYXPoXNHUN5HgUcIK3DyRo7jeBgPWC/s1600-h/Youssef+%26+journalist.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3v3EAoZ9y2Hd64bs0nQLudkt58auWaKefzQcgB74Y6ElrM3Ht6V1eW8XWDGAF-ZC6Q5jZwYY-hCnHlFNNxmZOp0WYJjjxNSk1u57EDJl1XMmup7dYXPoXNHUN5HgUcIK3DyRo7jeBgPWC/s320/Youssef+%26+journalist.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358244255806477554" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjur0qT1fvm8i9ArSsgR-JD2EjUnWlDyGvph26mMt-yTDf8JgUWGwoixpW1g45I7XPpZuRZvWnzN2byjUKDzXAVmF5A06U5Rn_sQG5XWZe6PsBraHjNZWBqlEqhmTS5QEBppPKbhuvQjMnv/s1600-h/Youssef+%26+unknown.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjur0qT1fvm8i9ArSsgR-JD2EjUnWlDyGvph26mMt-yTDf8JgUWGwoixpW1g45I7XPpZuRZvWnzN2byjUKDzXAVmF5A06U5Rn_sQG5XWZe6PsBraHjNZWBqlEqhmTS5QEBppPKbhuvQjMnv/s320/Youssef+%26+unknown.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358244120555917410" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiP6Xf9DVDoHYmCzq-k6uM653a7NCfJ0mc6Ajcpk6cteALrv3k8l9K1Wtl-3baJriyH2-C1sUxST-r7m6J6RKmS4A9U-3Ngvcx39W9UUr7rQjq7dprUN6i_eCaVFdrM2KFdZHTZPBOE3Id/s1600-h/Youssef+%26+Ibrahim+cropped.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiP6Xf9DVDoHYmCzq-k6uM653a7NCfJ0mc6Ajcpk6cteALrv3k8l9K1Wtl-3baJriyH2-C1sUxST-r7m6J6RKmS4A9U-3Ngvcx39W9UUr7rQjq7dprUN6i_eCaVFdrM2KFdZHTZPBOE3Id/s320/Youssef+%26+Ibrahim+cropped.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358254140981211378" /></a>www.cldh-lebanon.orghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12861105264067625300noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399894528043963549.post-5135284185963478992009-07-11T00:09:00.000-07:002009-07-11T22:44:07.723-07:00President pardons Youssef ShaabanDaily Star staff<br />Saturday, July 11, 2009<br /><br /><br />BEIRUT: President Michel Sleiman has pardoned the accused killer of a Jordanian diplomat in Beirut, years after the actual murderers were tried, sentenced and executed by the Jordanian authorities. Youssef Shaaban was the beneficiary of the pardon, since his conviction by the Higher Judicial Council for the 1994 crime could not be overturned. – The Daily Starwww.cldh-lebanon.orghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12861105264067625300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399894528043963549.post-29488182451661929912009-06-12T03:53:00.001-07:002009-06-13T00:58:44.277-07:00Participate in the Photo Petition to Demand the Release of Youssef Chaabane!!CLDH launched a PHOTO petition for the release of Youssef Chaabane. More attractive than an ordinary petition, CLDH is gathering the pictures of persons or teams wearing the tee shirt demanding the release of Youssef Chaabane. If you wish to participate in this action, please contact mdaunay@cldh-lebanon.org<br /><div style="width:477px;text-align:left" id="__ss_1572269"><a style="font:14px Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;display:block;margin:12px 0 3px 0;text-decoration:underline;" href="http://www.slideshare.net/guestab2193d/photo-petition-release-youssef-chaabane?type=document" title="'Signatories' of the photo petition"></a><object style="margin:0px" width="477" height="510"><param name="movie" value="http://static.slidesharecdn.com/swf/ssplayerd.swf?doc=slidepourblog-090612011753-phpapp01&stripped_title=photo-petition-release-youssef-chaabane" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"/><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"/><embed src="http://static.slidesharecdn.com/swf/ssplayerd.swf?doc=slidepourblog-090612011753-phpapp01&stripped_title=photo-petition-release-youssef-chaabane" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="477" height="510"></embed></object><div style="font-size:11px;font-family:tahoma,arial;height:26px;padding-top:2px;">View more <a style="text-decoration:underline;" href="http://www.slideshare.net/">PowerPoint presentation</a> from <a style="text-decoration:underline;" href="http://www.slideshare.net/guestab2193d">guestab2193d</a>.</div></div>www.cldh-lebanon.orghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12861105264067625300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399894528043963549.post-5549946576858567732009-05-03T00:10:00.000-07:002009-05-14T00:32:11.469-07:00Solidarity Demonstration Burj el Barajni<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUKlUzVme-TtFlUs7bk2ZWXJrItyAT5lHWVbzL70jUOKgDlNEBAY-_0_M_U_XXLRg5On0sNyOURDgFfU4yh67BMJdteQiqQjq25c9-mzp-bCrdoc_TMp77BeP_CzxujPk0PGitip7HZeZZ/s1600-h/IMAGE_023.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUKlUzVme-TtFlUs7bk2ZWXJrItyAT5lHWVbzL70jUOKgDlNEBAY-_0_M_U_XXLRg5On0sNyOURDgFfU4yh67BMJdteQiqQjq25c9-mzp-bCrdoc_TMp77BeP_CzxujPk0PGitip7HZeZZ/s320/IMAGE_023.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335578237142864546" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQWt8UJ_SndwpcFiSgw0Q9hx6iiuYp8SbVISyz2H3P_6vec0AGTYyB0gCGaPCDwu7PXIh7YNd3iQ_hmwJ38WSYZZmWJICxk-mxGf04fEHpnNhyZUsbZiW7W4aB6xa8eekGDE3tzoYxQ10n/s1600-h/IMAGE_018.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQWt8UJ_SndwpcFiSgw0Q9hx6iiuYp8SbVISyz2H3P_6vec0AGTYyB0gCGaPCDwu7PXIh7YNd3iQ_hmwJ38WSYZZmWJICxk-mxGf04fEHpnNhyZUsbZiW7W4aB6xa8eekGDE3tzoYxQ10n/s320/IMAGE_018.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335577654617476162" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKSqAiQrkP0YbkTEQYUDf1i6erfZpi2zO4hLZ7pTMWSG36g-dq7gPMOVUescelS8F_qeTNwQpZEev9Z3JZHtoV5cTkuBtk7qHGHaSWa2EAkNjhYwF0wlwZetW-3bAEJxHWHmXsueGOjuGO/s1600-h/IMAGE_031.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKSqAiQrkP0YbkTEQYUDf1i6erfZpi2zO4hLZ7pTMWSG36g-dq7gPMOVUescelS8F_qeTNwQpZEev9Z3JZHtoV5cTkuBtk7qHGHaSWa2EAkNjhYwF0wlwZetW-3bAEJxHWHmXsueGOjuGO/s320/IMAGE_031.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335574564037850498" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJz8rqVlRoi_Xt7UakDU-EsD1IAtDXtU4NW1HNV9vilZi0zEzHD14RxIyKrQrNf5hARbaqQ5QzcwFPLUjpVisnHkqPS5JznUawtG1xo4fSolUfoEeJJFXvPb2rvbYyAKrW0SNx67mgSAMj/s1600-h/IMAGE_017.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJz8rqVlRoi_Xt7UakDU-EsD1IAtDXtU4NW1HNV9vilZi0zEzHD14RxIyKrQrNf5hARbaqQ5QzcwFPLUjpVisnHkqPS5JznUawtG1xo4fSolUfoEeJJFXvPb2rvbYyAKrW0SNx67mgSAMj/s320/IMAGE_017.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335574560282170338" /></a>www.cldh-lebanon.orghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12861105264067625300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399894528043963549.post-26366380434769868122009-05-01T23:18:00.000-07:002009-05-01T23:20:29.288-07:00The Lebanese Justice does not respect Lebanon’s commitments to the United NationsThe Lebanese Center for Human Rights welcomes with satisfaction the decision of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon to liberate the generals Ali El Haj, Jamil Al Sayed, Raymond Azar et Moustapha Hamdane who were arbitrarily detained, without any charge held against them nor judgment for the last three and a half years. <br /><br />This decision is in compliance with the opinion 37/2007 of the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.<br /><br />The CLDH considers that this decision should have been made a long time ago by the Lebanese Justice itself, which demonstrated once again its lack of independence and impartiality in this affair. <br /><br />In addition, the CLDH points out that several very important opinions from the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention were not taken into account by the Lebanese Justice, notably opinions 17/2006 concerning Mr. Nehmeh Naïm el Haj and 10/2007 concerning the case of Mr. Youssef Mahmoud Chaabane.<br /><br />Nehmeh el Haj, condemned to death and detained in Roumieh Central Prison, was arrested in 1998 by the Syrian intelligence services and interrogated under torture at Anjar Detention Center, where he was forced to sign confessions. Transferred to the Lebanese justice system, he did not benefit from the assistance of a lawyer during his hearings with the Examining Magistrate. In this affair, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention considered that “when someone is accused of an offence punishable by death, the presence of a lawyer is (…) an absolute necessity for the sake of justice.” The Working Group considered that the detention of Nehmeh el Haj is arbitrary and indicated that “the most appropriate remedy would be to obtain his exemption from capital punishment.”<br /><strong><br />The Lebanese Justice did not take into account this recommendation and confirmed the death sentence of Mr. el Haj in the Court of Appeals on February 12, 2009.</strong> <br /><br />Youssef Mahmoud Chaabane, condemned to life imprisonment and detained in Jbeil prison, was arrested in 1994 by Syrian intelligence services and interrogated under torture at the Beau Rivage Detention Center, where he and several other individuals were forced to sign confessions. Transferred to the Lebanese Justice system, he was condemned to life imprisonment solely on the basis of these confessions. In Jordan, two other individuals were arrested for the same crime, condemned to death and executed. Their depositions clear Youssef Chaabane from having participated in this crime. The Working group considers in its opinions that “to be sentenced to capital punishment (even if commuted to life imprisonment) when the Government has not provided evidence that the individual had the ability to have his guilty finding and conviction examined by a higher jurisdiction, is itself a very egregious breach of the standards of a fair trial.” The detention of Mr. Chaabane is arbitrary and the “Working Group, having rendered this opinion, requests the Government to take the necessary steps to remedy the situation of Mr. Chaabane.”<br /><br /><strong>The Lebanese Justice rejected the demand to review Youssef Chaabane’s trial on February 2, 2008.</strong><br /><br />The CLDH urges the Lebanese authorities to respect Lebanon’s international commitments, in particular the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which establishes the standards of a fair trial, notably by remedying the arbitrary detentions of Messrs El Haj and Chaabane. The CLDH points out that according to the country’s constitution, Lebanon’s international agreements are superior to its internal jurisdiction.<br /><br /> <br />Beirut, April 30, 2009.www.cldh-lebanon.orghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12861105264067625300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399894528043963549.post-11362654651518839952008-11-20T08:48:00.000-08:002008-11-20T08:50:28.325-08:00L'Orient le Jour, October 27, 2008lundi 27 octobre 2008 5:00 Beyrouth<br /><br />Feuille de route<br />Les intermittences de la justice <br />L'article de Michel HajJi Georgiou<br /><br />« How can the life of such a man/Be in the palm of some fools hand ?/To see him obviously framed/Couldnt help but make me feel ashamed to live in a land/Where justice is a game. »« Comment la vie d’un tel homme/A pu se retrouver entre les mains de ces imbéciles/À le voir évidemment victime d’un coup monté/Je ne peux m’empêcher d’avoir honte de vivre dans un pays/Où la justice est un jeu. »***Non, il n’est pas question ici du système judiciaire libanais. La fronde de Bob Dylan, en 1976, visait la justice américaine, après le jugement et l’incarcération d’un innocent, le boxeur Rubin « Hurricane » Carter, accusé en 1966 d’un triple meurtre dans le New Jersey. Victime d’un procès inéquitable, le boxeur noir sera emprisonné durant vingt ans avant de pouvoir recouvrer sa liberté, au terme de deux nouveaux passages devant les tribunaux pour révision de procès.On pourrait se demander – et à juste titre – ce que peut bien venir faire Hurricane, cette chanson emblématique du protest song du début des années 70, dans notre capharnaüm local. La réponse est simple : nous avons notre propre Rubin Carter, qui croupit dans les geôles libanaises depuis 1994 sans que cela ne turlupine particulièrement beaucoup de consciences. Il s’appelle Youssef Chaabane, et il est victime d’une des plus grandes injustices de l’histoire du Liban. Et il n’y a malheureusement pas de Bob Dylan local pour lui dédier une chanson qui puisse devenir le moteur d’une campagne pour sa libération. Nous manquons de patience, de souffle, de concentration, et, surtout, nous manquons de détermination. Nous avons si peu, au Liban, cette culture de la résilience qui pourrait modifier le cours de l’histoire. Sitôt apparue, avec la force de l’éclair, elle s’amollit aussitôt et s’enfonce à nouveau, irrémédiablement, dans les ténèbres les plus épais.Youssef Chaabane, Palestinien, a été arrêté le 5 février 1994 à Beyrouth par des membres des services de renseignements syriens. Sous la torture – est-il besoin de rappeler les procédés barbares utilisés par la soldatesque syrienne pour extorquer les pseudo-« aveux » des souverainistes libanais sous l’occupation ? –, il a fini par « reconnaître » ce dont il était accusé : l’assassinat du premier secrétaire de l’ambassade jordanienne à Beyrouth, Naëb Omran el-Maaïtha. L’on se souvient aussi comment le tuteur, pour mieux nourrir la guerre de tous contre tous au pays du Cèdre et pour mieux « vendre » aux Libanais et à l’Occident cette image de marque de pacotille du grand protecteur et parrain sécuritaire dans le pays, procédait à des arrestations arbitraires un peu partout : dans les rangs des chrétiens souverainistes, des islamistes, des Palestiniens, etc. Inutile de revenir sur des méthodes qui sont désormais largement connues du monde entier.Youssef Chaabane a ensuite été condamné à mort (jugement commué en détention à perpétuité) le 19 octobre 1994 par la Cour de justice, qui est un tribunal d’exception – aberration ultime et atteinte fondamentale aux normes internationales les plus élémentaires de la justice – où les jugements sont sans appel (malgré un amendement de 2005, qui a rendu possible l’appel sous certaines conditions, mais celui de Chaabane est resté lettre morte, les mêmes magistrats ne voulant apparemment pas se dédire). Inutile de dire qu’il n’avait eu droit – ère Adnane Addoum, ce Mahdaoui des temps modernes, oblige – qu’à un simulacre de procès. Pire encore, Youssef Chaabane a été condamné sur la base des aveux obtenus sous la torture des services de renseignements syriens.En l’an 2000, l’assassin du diplomate, Yasser Mohammed Ahmad Salameh Abou Channar, a été arrêté par les autorités jordaniennes. Ce dernier a fait des aveux complets en expliquant, en détail, comment le meurtre avait été préparé et exécuté. Le 3 décembre 2001, Abou Channar et ses complices étaient condamnés à mort à Amman. Bien évidemment, cela – et le fait que la Jordanie ait été convaincue de l’innocence de Chaabane – n’a rien modifié à la donne.***Jusque-là, rien de bien étrange. Ce genre de dérives était, en effet, bien dans l’air du temps. Sauf que... sauf que, depuis 2005, depuis une certaine « révolution », la situation de Chaabane devrait avoir changé, vers le meilleur. Or il n’en est rien. Sur le plan national, le régime syrien n’est plus au Liban, Adnane Addoum n’est plus en charge de la justice libanaise au service de l’occupant, et le 14 Mars entretient de bonnes relations avec l’OLP. Concernant l’affaire Chaabane plus particulièrement, le procès jordanien est venu introduire de nouveaux éléments qui devraient, au moins, susciter des interrogations et un grand doute dans l’esprit des autorités concernées.Si Youssef Chaabane est innocent, qu’est-ce qui empêche encore sa libération ? S’agit-il d’un problème procédural lié à l’injustice de la Cour de justice ? S’il en est ainsi, aucun innocent ne devrait sévir en prison en raison d’une déficience quelconque du système. Le droit ne saurait se transformer en une fin en soi qui n’a que faire de l’homme. Ce dernier doit garder son primat sur toute autre considération, c’est-à-dire préserver sa dignité, ses droits fondamentaux, sa liberté. Qui rendra ensuite à Youssef Chaabane toutes les années qu’il a perdues en prison ? Qui acceptera d’avoir ce fardeau sur sa conscience ?Et pourquoi cette honte dès lors qu’il s’agit de soulever le cas de Chaabane ? Est-ce par ce qu’il est palestinien d’origine et qu’il ne mérite donc pas une campagne civique en bonne et due forme (en dehors de certaines associations qui ont le grand mérite de soulever le cas, à l’instar du CLDH) fondée sur les libertés et le droit à la dignité humaine et l’égalité ? Est-ce, justement, parce qu’il ne le « mérite » pas, sous prétexte qu’il n’est pas libanais ? Si telle est la raison, aucun homme ne devrait être victime du système en raison de son appartenance communautaire ou raciale, et c’est là tout le message de Dylan dans Hurricane, malmené et condamné parce qu’il était noir.***Youssef Chaabane doit recouvrer sa liberté au plus tôt, puisqu’il est innocent. Les nouveaux éléments apparus dans cette affaire devraient au moins conduire à la révision de son procès, sinon, dans le cas où le système empêche une telle démarche, à une amnistie spéciale du président de la République pour qu’il puisse enfin revenir à la vie, loin des oubliettes et des intermittences de la justice. Le ministre de la Justice a promis de se pencher sur le dossier dans les plus brefs délais. Youssef Chaabane ne peut plus attendre. Quatorze ans en prison, c’est long... et irrécupérable.Je ne peux m’empêcher d’avoir honte de vivre dans un pays qui bafoue et dénigre ce qu’il a lui-même, grâce à Charles Malek, contribué à édifier : une certaine culture, une philosophie de vie et de justice fondée en 1948, loin de tout ce légalisme et ce positivisme juridique obtus et niais, sur le droit naturel et les droits de l’homme.<br /><a href="http://www.puborientonline.com/orientadserving/www/delivery/ck.php?n=aaf6c438&cb=" target="_blank"></a><br />© 2007, L'Orient-Le Jour. Droits de reproduction et de diffusion réservés.www.cldh-lebanon.orghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12861105264067625300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399894528043963549.post-27979414305712088522008-10-19T08:53:00.000-07:002008-10-23T01:25:17.629-07:00<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijKZPrD2p3CmgvDfe8B9-e15ulE5jsJVSasFBfkCcsKYOGA0xBF9-DceY3GJyj2BHG6xE47uHPgvhVLWZVEzdRVZju7UYTUwXgAb_cmCHNCMJJtaJu8cF8g7gcE7Vp0DUa2zKK8YrwD_zS/s1600-h/196.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5258899332264049746" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijKZPrD2p3CmgvDfe8B9-e15ulE5jsJVSasFBfkCcsKYOGA0xBF9-DceY3GJyj2BHG6xE47uHPgvhVLWZVEzdRVZju7UYTUwXgAb_cmCHNCMJJtaJu8cF8g7gcE7Vp0DUa2zKK8YrwD_zS/s320/196.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div align="center"><a href="http://docs.google.com/Presentation?id=dg39sr4t_235g7bmf6cd"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5258897946546519874" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKcWeWRbHt0Hd9biAcuUPDR1epAPoxT87gtLmgHB9IIi8bwkekw0ceEvzdUH9aWaCU_lQi8BcPeXv_N2inmBCQIZoW45nqcZ1dGn6ZsGPOqKB8UubuiB2ihtJTGMeGYlzVcYbO1WyyYleS/s320/189.JPG" border="0" /> Sunday 19, October 2008, in front of Jbeil prison</a></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center"><br /><br /><div></div></div>www.cldh-lebanon.orghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12861105264067625300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399894528043963549.post-5221119456979489992008-10-17T09:42:00.001-07:002008-10-17T09:45:50.451-07:00DEMAND THE RELEASE OF YOUSSEF CHAABANE<div align="center"><strong><br /></strong>Join us<br />in front of Jbeil prison<br />on <strong>Sunday October 19, 2008</strong> at 11:00 am</div><div align="center"><br />to release balloons and express our solidarity with Youssef Chaabane </div><div align="center"><br />14 years ago, on October 19, 1994, Youssef Chaabane was sentenced to life imprisonment on the basis of his confessions extracted under torture by the Syrian intelligence services </div><div align="center"><br />For more information, please call: 03 887 108</div>www.cldh-lebanon.orghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12861105264067625300noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399894528043963549.post-86324659207840630452008-09-16T05:22:00.000-07:002008-09-16T05:25:55.467-07:00Hundreds of World Citizens Urge Lebanese Authorities to Release Youssef ChaabaneHuman Rights activists and citizens worldwide are mobilizing for the release of Youssef Chaabane.<br /><br />From Lebanon, France, Canada, Denmark, Sweden, Brazil and the United States, they were hundreds to sign a petition addressed to the Lebanese authorities demanding the release of Mr. Youssef Chaabane who has been in arbitrary detention in Lebanon since 1994.<br /><br />International mobilization is ongoing for the release of this individual whose detention was declared arbitrary by the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, and who has been forgotten in Lebanese prisons for 15 years.<br /><br />After his arrest on February 5, 1994, Mr. Chaabane was forced to sign confessions under torture by the Syrian Intelligence Services, then by the Lebanese Criminal Investigation Police, in the assassination of a Jordanian diplomat in Lebanon.<br /><br />Although Youssef Chaabane has not ceased to maintain his innocence in this case, the Lebanese Justice Council sentenced him to a life sentence on October 19, 1994.<br /><br />In 2000, two individuals were arrested in Jordan in the same case. They were found guilty, sentenced to death and executed for the Jordanian diplomat’s murder. During the Jordanian trial, the two accused individuals did not incriminate Youssef Chaabane and, in fact, stated that he was not involved, which is corroborated by several key pieces of evidence in the case.<br /><br />A request for a presidential pardon has been submitted.<br /><br />Beirut<br />September 16, 2008www.cldh-lebanon.orghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12861105264067625300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399894528043963549.post-73447600374297707762008-08-05T08:23:00.000-07:002008-08-05T08:33:47.208-07:00SOLIDARITY SIT IN ON SUNDAY 10<strong>"INJUSTICE ANYWHERE IS A THREAT TO JUSTICE EVERYWHERE"</strong><br /><div align="left">Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.<br /><br />More than 14 years after his arrest, and despite the torture to which he was subjected by the Syrian Intelligence Services and the Lebanese Judiciary Police in order to get him to confess, and even though he never stopped claiming innocence, the Palestinian Youssef Chaabane who is a resident of Lebanon is serving a life sentence.<br /><br />Each day is one more day behind bars for Youssef Chaabane who has literally been forgotten for so many years in prison in Lebanon and is the victim of not just one, but several, egregious violations of justice.<br /><br />We call to all those who refuse that in Lebanon, like anywhere else in the world, people are being tortured and indefinitely and arbitrarily denied their freedom.<br /><br />Let’s act in order to free Youssef Chaabane!<br /><br /><strong>Join the Family and Friends of Youssef Chaabane<br />in a<br />SOLIDARITY SIT IN<br />On Sunday 10 of August, from 10:00 am till 12:00 pm<br />In Raouche – Corniche el Manara – Beirut<br /></strong><br />Looking forward to seeing you there!<br />For more information, please call CLDH numbers on 01 24 00 23 – 03 88 71 08 – 03 51 67 92</div>www.cldh-lebanon.orghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12861105264067625300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399894528043963549.post-48411497223304936942008-07-24T01:22:00.000-07:002008-07-26T01:30:07.265-07:00The lawyer of Youssef Chaabane asks for a presidential pardonThe Lebanese newspapers announced today that Mrs May Khansa, lawyer of Youssef Chaabane, has submitted to Mr Ibrahim Najjar, Minister of Justice an application for a special presidential pardon to be presented to the President Michel Sleimane.www.cldh-lebanon.orghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12861105264067625300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399894528043963549.post-68908097995722630952008-07-01T14:21:00.000-07:002008-07-09T14:25:54.423-07:00OPEN LETTER FROM OMCT AND FIDHGeneral Michel Sleiman<br />President of the Republic of Lebanon<br /><br />Fax Transmittal: +961-5-922400<br /><br />Geneva-Paris<br />July 1, 2008<br /><br />Dear Mr. President,<br /><br />The International Federation of Human Rights Leagues (FIDH) and the World Organization Against Torture (OMCT) wish to draw your attention to the case of Mr. Youssef Chaabane, who has been in detention at the Central Prison of Roumieh for more than 14 years as a result of a judicial process that was not in compliance with Lebanon’s international commitments.<br /><br />Following his arrest in the course of an investigation into the murder of Mr. Maaitha, a Jordanian diplomat who was killed in Beirut in 1994, Youssef Chaabane’s conviction on October 19, 1994 by Lebanon’s Justice Council was exclusively based on confessions obtained under torture. Mr. Chaabane has continued to proclaim his innocence in this crime in which two individuals were sentenced to death and executed in Jordan.<br /><br />In May 2007, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention stated that, in the case of Mr. Chaabane, “to be sentenced to capital punishment, even when such a sentence is commuted to life in prison, without the individual having the ability to have his guilty finding and conviction examined by a higher jurisdiction, is itself a very egregious breach of the standards of a fair trial.”<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=8399894528043963549#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1">[1]</a> The Working Group furthermore found, “…that the breach of Paragraph 5 of Article 14<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=8399894528043963549#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2">[2]</a> of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=8399894528043963549#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3">[3]</a> is of such grave nature that it confers to Mr. Chaabane’s detention an arbitrary character.” Moreover, this past April, the Human Rights Commission of Lebanon’s Parliament issued a call for a re-trial of Youssef Chaabane’s case.<br /><br />In your capacity as the custodian of the Lebanese Constitution, which declares Lebanon’s adherence to the United Nations Organization and the commitment of the country to uphold the UN charters whose precedence over domestic law is guaranteed under Lebanese law<a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=8399894528043963549#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4">[4]</a>, our organizations urgently request that you do everything in your power to guarantee that Mr. Youssef Chaabane’s basic rights are upheld. In particular, we urge you to ensure that the relevant Lebanese authorities act in conformity with Lebanon’s international commitments, namely that Mr. Youssef Chaabane’s case be re-tried without further delay, absent which he should be released since his detention and conviction are arbitrary.<br /><br />We trust that your Excellency will give this request all the attention that it deserves.<br /><br />Sincerely Yours,<br /><br /><br /><br /> Souhayr Belhassen Eric Sottas<br />FIDH President OMCT General Secretary<br /><br /><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=8399894528043963549#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1">[1]</a> Opinion No. 10/2007 adopted in May 2007 by the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.<br /><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=8399894528043963549#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2">[2]</a> Paragraph 5 of Article 14 stipulates that “Any person declared guilty of an offense has the right to have the declaration of guilt and the conviction examined by a higher jurisdiction, in accordance with the law.”<br /><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=8399894528043963549#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3">[3]</a> Lebanon is a signatory party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.<br /><a title="" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=8399894528043963549#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4">[4]</a> Specifically by Article 2 of the Code of Civil Procedures.www.cldh-lebanon.orghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12861105264067625300noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399894528043963549.post-67626417776923691392008-06-09T01:11:00.001-07:002008-06-09T01:11:53.103-07:00Open Letter from ACAT-France to Lebanese President General Michel SleimanYOUSSEF CHAABANE: FORGOTTEN FOR 14 YEARS IN PRISON<br /><br />Paris, June 5, 2008<br /><br /><br />Dear Mr. President,<br /><br />On the occasion of your recent election to the highest office of the Lebanese State, ACAT-France (Action of Christians for the Abolition of Torture) would like to bring to your attention the case of Youssef Chaabane, a Palestinian who has been detained for more than 14 years in Lebanon under a ruling that is in violation of Lebanon’s international commitments.<br /><br />Youssef Chaabane was sentenced to life by the Justice Council of Lebanon in 1994. He stands accused of the murder of the First Secretary of the Embassy of Jordan in Lebanon. Mr. Chaabane has always claimed his innocence and his conviction is based solely on confessions extracted under torture. His continued detention has been declared arbitrary by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (Opinion 10/2007 dated May 11, 2007).<br /><br />Given the information that is available to ACAT, and trusting that you will be keen to ensure the respect of Human Rights in your country, we address ourselves to you today in order to bring an end to the inhumane situation in which this man, a father, finds himself thrown in prison and deprived to any recourse of justice. <br /><br />Based on new elements that point to his innocence, Mr. Chaabane’s lawyers have repeatedly attempted to have this case be re-tried, but to no avail. The Justice Council which convicted him continues to refuse to examine the substance of the petitions, despite their gravity.<br /><br />Last April 30, the Parliamentary Commission on Human Rights, aware of the unique circumstances surrounding his situation, urged a re-trial.<br /><br />Your election to the highest office in the country grants you the requisite authority to intervene without any further delay in favor of Youssef Chaabane, in order for this individual to regain his rights and his freedom. It is our sincere hope that justice will finally be served in Lebanon.<br /><br />Sincerely,<br /><br /><br />Anne-Cécile Antoni<br />ACAT-France Presidentwww.cldh-lebanon.orghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12861105264067625300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399894528043963549.post-49562070488669730512008-05-27T04:07:00.000-07:002008-05-27T04:16:22.864-07:00Urgent Action<a href="http://www.acatfrance.org/appel_urgent_detail.php?id=70">ACAT France, a French Human Rights organization, asks the Lebanese authorities to release Youssef Chaabane immediatly.</a>www.cldh-lebanon.orghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12861105264067625300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399894528043963549.post-71639360127245943262008-04-28T07:00:00.000-07:002008-04-28T07:07:09.948-07:00Open Letter to Prime Minister Fuad Siniora On the Third Anniversary of the Syrian Withdrawal<strong>Youssef Chaabane, Interrogated Under Torture by the Syrians, Remains in Arbitrary Detention in Lebanon</strong><br /><br /><br />Dear Mr. Prime Minister,<br /><br />Three years ago, the Syrian Army evacuated its troops from Lebanon, leaving behind it many painful scars…<br /><br />The suffering of the Lebanese people under the Syrian occupation was enormous, leaving an open wound that will take years to heal. Much remains to be done to alleviate the pain and heal those scars.<br /><br />Among the painful legacies of that period is the case of those individuals who were arrested and seriously tortured by the Syrian Intelligence Services on Lebanese soil. Hundreds of them remain missing to this day and the families of these victims continue to agonize over the possibility of ever finding them.<br /><br />If the fate of one of those victims, just one, was in your hands, what will you do?<br /><br />Would you turn your back? Would you abandon that person to his/her fate? Or would you take all measures necessary to restore their dignity?<br /><br />Fifteen years ago, a man was kidnapped by the Syrian Intelligence Services in Lebanon. Under torture, this man was forced by the Syrian Intelligence Services to sign confessions. He signed under torture that he assassinated a diplomat. Yet, despite all the evidence proving this man’s innocence, he remains sentenced to life in prison.<br /><br />This man is a direct victim of the Syrian Intelligence Services, and his name is Youssef Chaabane.<br /><br />The fate of this victim is in your hands because, by a mere “act of fortune”, he remains incarcerated in a Lebanese jail and did not suffer the fate of so many other missing persons.<br /><br />Today, you have the power to order the release of this man. Indeed, how can an anti-Syrian government like yours continue to endorse and support this monumental miscarriage of justice by Syria?<br /><br />Today, you have the power to order the release of this man. It would be unimaginable to await the election of a President who may then issue a pardon. What is Youssef Chaabane’s responsibility in the current political situation in Lebanon? Nothing. Therefore, no justification can stand in the way of the inevitable action that must be taken: Release Youssef Chaabane as the direct victim of the barbaric Syrian Intelligence Services, and only you can do this.<br /><br />We trust that you will take this bold step and we challenge anyone who would dare criticize this gesture. Not one political excuse can stand in the way of the decision of reinstating a victim’s rights.<br /><br />Respectfully,<br /><br />For the CLDH<br />Marie DAUNAY<br />President<br /><br />Beirut, April 28, 2008www.cldh-lebanon.orghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12861105264067625300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399894528043963549.post-69574031494753228562008-03-02T01:11:00.000-08:002008-03-02T01:13:13.112-08:00Request for Review of Palestinian Youssef Chaabane’s Trial Turned DownSource: CLDH<br /><br /><br />Once again, the Lebanese justice system has demonstrated its complete disregard for the international standards guaranteeing the right to a fair trial.<br /><br /><strong>On February 1, the Lebanese Judicial Council turned down a petition for a trial review submitted last October by Youssef Mahmoud Chaabane’s attorney.<br /><br /></strong>In its decision, the Judicial Council has formally refused to examine the new elements which were submitted to it and which, in fact, are of paramount importance, including, in particular, the ballistics expert’s report which would clear Youssef Chaabane in the case. The Judicial Council argued that this expert opinion was not mandated by the courts.<br /><br />This is the second time that the Lebanese judiciary has refused to review this trial.<br /><br />This latest decision is marred by an egregious irregularity in due process since the petition for review was first heard by Prosecutor Said Mirza who was the Investigative Judge in the case and who conducted the initial investigations during which Youssef Chaabane and several witnesses complained of having been severely tortured to force them to sign confessions. Said Mirza, who has thus become both a party to the case as well as the judge in charge of the case – an obvious conflict of interest – has naturally issued an unfavorable opinion against any review of the trial. Even though the attorney challenged the legitimacy of this interference by the Prosecutor into what is otherwise a procedure with the Judicial Council, the latter has not commented on this point raised by the challenge.<br /><br /><strong>Nevertheless, in spite of the refusal by the Judicial Council to hear the new elements, and in spite of the violation of due process by Prosecutor Mirza’s interference in the case, there is no further recourse since the Judicial Council is the highest jurisdiction in Lebanon.</strong><br /><br />Youssef Chaabane is currently held at the Roumieh Prison (Beirut) after he was arrested on February 5, 1994 by the Syrian Intelligence Services operating then on Lebanese territory. He was charged with the murder of the First Secretary of the Embassy of Jordan in Lebanon.<br />It is under torture inflicted first by the Syrian Intelligence Services, then by Lebanese police, that Youssef Chaabane and several witnesses are alleged to have signed confessions. Yet, Youssef Chaabane has continued to proclaim his innocence in the case, and the witnesses have complained before the court that they were tortured in order to incriminate Youssef Chaabane.<br /><br />On October 19, 1994, Youssef Chaabane was handed a life sentence by the Judicial Council, which is a special tribunal whose decisions are final and cannot be appealed. In 2000, two individuals were arrested in Jordan in the same case, and they were convicted, sentenced to death and executed. During their trial, the defendants did not incriminate Youssef Chaabane, and they stated during the interrogations that Youssef Chaabane was not involved.<br /><br />In December 2005, Lebanese legislation was passed which finally allowed decisions by the Judicial Council to become subject to review. A first petition for review was filed on the ground of the new element brought forth by the Jordanian decision. That petition was turned down on the argument that it is based on the decision of a foreign court.<br /><br />Pursuant to a request filed by the Lebanese Center of Human Rights (CLDH), the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention issued an opinion on May 11, 2007 which stated that: “The deprivation of freedom of Mr. Youssef Mahmoud Chaabane is arbitrary in that it contravenes the provisions of Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and falls under Category III among those categories that are applicable to the consideration of cases submitted to the Working Group.”<br /><br />On June 20, 2007, CLDH published a full report on the Youssef Chaabane case entitled “Youssef Chaabane: Forgotten by Justice” which was widely disseminated in Lebanon and in Europe. CLDH also organized two press conferences and a broad awareness campaign about the case, which included meetings with several European ambassadors and with religious and political figures, most notably the Lebanese Prime Minister and the Advisor to the President of the Republic. Several international human rights organizations have intervened in the case and are monitoring it.<br /><br /><strong>CLDH strongly denounces the decision of the Judicial Council to reject the new petition for a re-trial of the Youssef Chaabane case and calls on all Lebanese and international organizations and institutions to monitor the case and use all means available to ensure that Youssef Chaabane’s rights are upheld.<br /><br />For its part, CLDH will continue its mobilization and its campaign for the release of Youssef Chaabane.</strong><br /><br />Beirut<br />February 28, 2008www.cldh-lebanon.orghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12861105264067625300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399894528043963549.post-9287376271754857462008-03-02T01:01:00.000-08:002008-03-02T01:03:59.961-08:00Rejet de la demande de révision du procès du Palestinien Youssef ChaabaneSource: CLDH<br /><br />Une fois de plus, la justice libanaise a montré son mépris total du respect des normes internationales garantissant le droit à un procès équitable.<br /><br /><strong>Le Conseil de Justice a rejeté le 1er février la demande de révision de procès présentée en octobre par l’avocat de Youssef Mahmoud Chaabane.<br /></strong><br />Dans sa décision, le Conseil de Justice refuse formellement d’examiner les éléments nouveaux qui lui sont présentés et qui sont pourtant d’une importance capitale, en particulier le rapport d’un expert en balistique qui tend à innocenter Youssef Chaabane. Le Conseil de Justice argue du fait que cette expertise n’a pas été ordonnée par la Justice.<br /><br /> C’est la deuxième fois que la Justice libanaise refuse de revoir ce procès.<br /><br />Cette toute nouvelle décision est entachée d’un grave vice de procédure puisque la demande de révision a en premier lieu été examinée par le procureur Saïd Mirza, qui était juge d’instruction dans l’affaire et a conduit les premières investigations au cours desquelles Youssef Chaabane et plusieurs témoins se plaignent d’avoir été gravement torturés pour signer des aveux. Saïd Mirza, devenu dans cette affaire juge et partie, a bien entendu émis un avis défavorable à toute révision. L’avocat a contesté la légitimité de cette intervention du procureur dans la procédure auprès du Conseil de Justice ; ce dernier n’a pas commenté.<br /><br />Néanmoins, malgré le refus du Conseil de Justice d’examiner les éléments nouveaux, malgré le vice de procédure que constitue l’intervention du procureur Mirza dans l’affaire, aucun recours n’existe, le Conseil de Justice étant la plus haute juridiction du Liban.<br /><br />Rappelons que Youssef Chaabane, actuellement détenu à la prison de Roumieh (Beyrouth) a été arrêté le 5 février 1994 par les services de renseignements syriens au Liban et accusé du meurtre du premier secrétaire de l’ambassade de Jordanie au Liban. C’est sous la torture des services de renseignements syriens puis de la police libanaise que Youssef Chaabane et plusieurs témoins auraient signé des aveux. Youssef Chaabane a toujours clamé son innocence dans cette affaire, et les témoins se sont plaints devant la cour d’avoir été torturés pour incriminer Youssef Chaabane.<br /><br />Le 19 octobre 1994, Youssef Chaabane était condamné à la prison à perpétuité par le Conseil de Justice, une cour d’exception aux décisions sans appel. En 2000, deux personnes étaient arrêtées en Jordanie pour la même affaire, jugées coupables, condamnées à mort et exécutées. Au cours du procès, les accusés n’incriminent pas Youssef Chaabane, et affirment au cours des interrogatoires qu’il n’est pas impliqué.<br /><br />En décembre 2005, la loi libanaise autorise finalement que les jugements du Conseil de Justice deviennent passibles de révision. Une première demande de révision, basée sur le fait nouveau que constitue le jugement jordanien est alors présentée, mais rejetée au motif qu’elle est basée sur la décision d’une cour étrangère. <br /><br />Suite à une demande soumise par le Centre Libanais des Droits Humains (CLDH), le groupe de travail sur la détention arbitraire des Nations Unies a rendu le 11 mai 2007 un avis selon lequel « la privation de liberté de Monsieur Youssef Mahmoud Chaabane est arbitraire en ce qu’elle contrevient aux dispositions de l’article 14 du Pacte international relatif aux droits civils et politiques, et relève de la catégorie III des catégories applicables à l’examen des cas dont est saisi les Groupe de travail. » <br /><br />Le CLDH a publié le 20 juin 2007 un rapport complet sur l’affaire de Youssef Chaabane, intitulé « Youssef Chaabane, l’oublié de la Justice », qui a été très largement diffusé au Liban, et en Europe. Le CLDH a organisé deux conférences de presse et une grande campagne de sensibilisation sur cette affaire, rencontrant notamment plusieurs ambassadeurs européens, les instances religieuses et politiques – notamment le premier ministre libanais et le conseiller du président de la république. Plusieurs organisations internationales de défense des droits de l’Homme sont intervenues et suivent cette affaire.<br /><br /><strong>Le CLDH proteste vivement contre la décision du Conseil de Justice de rejeter la nouvelle demande de révision du procès de Youssef Chaabane, appelle toutes les organisations et institutions libanaises internationales à suivre cette affaire et à user de tous les moyens possibles pour que Youssef Chaabane recouvre ses droits.<br /><br />Pour sa part le CLDH continuera sa mobilisation et sa campagne pour la libération de Youssef Chaabane.</strong><br /><br /><br />Beyrouth, le 28 février 2008.www.cldh-lebanon.orghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12861105264067625300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399894528043963549.post-27922950355150224512007-12-12T07:36:00.000-08:002007-12-12T07:39:34.677-08:00Daily Star ArticleCopyright (c) 2007 The Daily Star<br /><br />Wednesday, December 12, 2007<br /><strong>Rights group cries foul in Chaaban case<br /></strong><br /><br />By The Daily Star<br /><br />BEIRUT: Amnesty International has written to the Lebanese authorities calling for an independent review of the case of Yusef Chaaban, who was sentenced to life imprisonment in October 1994, a statement issued by the human rights non-governmental organization (NGO). A Palestinian refugee resident in Lebanon, Chaaban was convicted by the Judicial Council of the January 1994 killing of Jordanian diplomat Naib Omran al-Maaita.<br />"On June 12, 2007, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention declared Yusef Chaaban's continuing detention to be arbitrary and called for the Lebanese authorities to remedy the matter," the statement said.<br />According to Amnesty, the working group found that he had been denied a fair trial, notably because he was denied the right to have his conviction and sentence reviewed by a higher tribunal. The UN body found also that the violation he suffered was the more severe because a "confession," accepted by the court as evidence against him, was allegedly extracted under torture and new information appears to support this claim.<br />Amnesty said following his arrest, Chaaban was held in "secret, incommunicado detention for 10 days without access to a lawyer and for a further month without contact with his family."<br />"He was initially held in secret by Syrian intelligence officials at [the] Beau Rivage detention center they previously operated in Beirut before being handed over to the Lebanese Criminal Investigations Police in Furn al-Shebbak," it said.<br />Amnesty explained that at his trial, Chaaban alleged that while detained he was tortured and otherwise ill-treated to make him "confess," but the court failed adequately to investigate his allegations of torture and other ill-treatment.<br />"He was also denied the opportunity to appeal against his conviction and sentence to a higher tribunal, as required by recognized international standards on the right to fair trial," the NGO said.<br />According to Amnesty, Chaaban alleges that various torture methods were used against him during his detention, including sitting in a metal chair with moving parts that stretch the spine, suspension from his wrists while they were tied behind his back, electric shocks, threats and denial of food, water and sleep. His family were not informed of his detention for 40 days.<br />"Amnesty International has previously expressed concern that trials before the Judicial Council fail to satisfy international standards for fair trials and has documented a number of trials which were deficient," the statement said.<br />Amnesty argued in its statement that it was unclear on what criteria cases are selected by the Cabinet for referral to the Judicial Council, and the latter has failed to order independent investigations into allegations of torture during pre-trial detention made by defendants at trial.<br />"Further, as the Human Rights Committee noted in 1997, 'the fact that decisions passed by the Judicial Council are not subject to appeal' breaches the fair trial requirements of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and Lebanon's obligations as a party to this treaty," it added.<br />"In the case of Chaaban, new developments since 1994 have raised further questions about the safety of his conviction and consequent imprisonment," the statement said.<br />On December 3, 2001, the Jordanian State Security Court convicted Yasser Mohammad Ahmad Salameh Abu Shanaar, Aqaab Namer Suleiman Fuqhaa and Jamal Darwish Mustafa Fatayr of the same killing. Amnesty said the prosecution made no reference to Chaaban.<br />"Indeed, the only reference made to Yusef Chaaban during this trial was by one of the accused who explicitly denied that Chaaban had participated in the assassination," the group said.<br />Also, according to the NGO, the report of a ballistics expert appointed by Chaaban's lawyer that was presented to the Judicial Council on October 23, 2007, a copy of which Amnesty International has seen, "casts serious doubt on the description of events as portrayed at the trial before the Justice Council."<br />In view of these developments, the NGO urged the Lebanese authorities to ensure that the conviction and imprisonment of Chaaban is "made the subject of an urgent, thorough and independent review in order to ensure that any miscarriage of justice is remedied at the earliest opportunity and that he is guaranteed a fair re-trial in accordance with international standards or released." - The Daily Starwww.cldh-lebanon.orghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12861105264067625300noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8399894528043963549.post-81742395487484526962007-10-23T10:30:00.001-07:002007-10-23T10:43:20.894-07:00<div align="justify">Speech of Wadih Al Asmar, Secretary General of the CLDH (Lebanese Center for Human Rights), on the occasion of the press conference held this Friday October 19, 2007, entitled:</div><div align="center"><br /><strong>WHY DOES THE LEBANESE JUDICIARY CONTINUE TO COVER UP RUSTOM GHAZALEH’S CRIMES?</strong></div><div align="justify"><br />Let me begin, on behalf of the Lebanese Center for Human Rights, by thanking you all for being here today. I particularly would like to emphasize the key role that the media play in contributing their support to our struggle for a greater respect for human rights in Lebanon.</div><div align="justify"><br />We have invited you here today to this press conference in order to share with you our assessment of the lobbying and awareness campaign that we have conducted with the goal of drawing the attention of the political an d judicial authorities, as well as the religious ones, to the tragic situation of Youssef Chaabane. Mr. Chaabane has been detained for more than 14 years on the basis of a court judgment that violates Lebanon’s international commitments. </div><div align="justify"><br /><strong>The opinion of the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in this matter is a sign of the mistrust expressed vis-à-vis the Lebanese justice system in its totality. The experts of the United Nations were very explicit when they qualified the detention of Youssef Chaabane as “arbitrary”.</strong> The Working Group believes that: “to be sentenced to death, even when the sentence is commuted to a life term, while denying the concerned individual to have the conviction and the sentence reviewed by a higher jurisdiction, is in itself a very serious violation of the norms of a fair trial.”</div><div align="justify"><br />The Working Group believes (…) that the violation of Paragraph 5 of Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights – to which Lebanon is a party – is of such an egregious nature that it confers upon the detention and conviction of Mr. Chaabane an arbitrary character.”</div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">Following this campaign, there is a lingering feeling of a profound malaise, since we have come to the unpleasant conclusion that since April 2005, when the Syrian forces withdrew, nothing has changed in Lebanon. How else should one interpret the dogged stubbornness of an entire judiciary to protect a decision made following an unfair trial which itself began with an illegal arrest and detention at the Syrian Intelligence Center in Beau Rivage, and following an investigation conducted under the aegis of Rustom Ghazaleh himself? </div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><strong>Does Mr. Ghazaleh’s ghost continue to haunt the Justice Palace? Or are some people so afraid of what Mr. Ghazaleh could reveal of their past that they thus continue to tread carefully around him?</strong></div><div align="justify"><strong></strong> </div><div align="justify"><strong></div></strong><div align="justify">Lebanon has paid too dear a price in getting rid of the Syrian occupation that we cannot accept that crimes and judicial errors committed during that period go unpunished. </div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">Many arguments can be, and have been, put forth by eminent and respected legal experts that it is impossible to re-open the case of Youssef Chaabane because he was tried before the Judicial Council and the decisions of the Council may not be appealed. We, however, would like to remind the experts that:<br /><br />The Lebanese Constitution gives precedence to Lebanon’s international commitments over Lebanese law, and therefore nothing prevents the experts fro m relying on the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to set up an appeals process for judgments issued by the Judicial Council, by simply adopting a positive interpretation of the law without recourse to Parliament.<br /><br />Another trial took place in Jordan in 2000 on the same case, and at no time did that trial implicate Youssef Chaabane. This constitutes an exceptional factor that should prompt them to review the case. The question is not whether or not to put more credence in Jordanian justice; rather, it is basic common sense that should compel the Lebanese judiciary to immediately request from the Jordanian authorities to transmit those evidentiary elements that allowed them to make a decision and then review Youssef Chaabane’s trial in light of those elements.<br /><br /><strong>Rustom Ghazaleh is no longer in Lebanon. The fact that he was directly or indirectly involved in the trial should be reason enough to repeal the trial.</strong></div><div align="justify"><strong></strong> </div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">We continue to dare and hope that there are still in Lebanon judges who are capable of placing their consciences ahead of their careers. It is to these judges that we address ourselves today to ask them to take up this case and be creative in finding a legal solution that would allow Youssef Chaabane to be re-tried fairly. We will never accept that decisions made under pressure from Ghazi Kanaan, Rustom Ghazaleh and their henchmen remain in the records of Lebanese justice.</div><div align="justify"> </div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">Wadih Al Asmar,</div><div align="justify">CLDH General Secretary</div>www.cldh-lebanon.orghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12861105264067625300noreply@blogger.com0