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BEIRUT: Dressed modestly in denim and a cap covering one of many jagged scars, Pierre Namour, 50, a victim all-too-familiar with pain, believes there is no hope of ending torture in Lebanon.
As a former member of the South Lebanon Army militia, which assisted Israeli occupation between 1978 and 2000, Namour claims there can be no fresh starts in Lebanon and that he will be relentlessly targeted by state and non-state actors alike. He claims he was tortured 27 times, the last instance happening as recently as May 19.
“I have no faith that torture will stop,” Namour told The Daily Star.
“All of these military officials that appear to care [in public], it is just a front for what is going on behind the scenes,” he said.
His words are an urgent reminder to the international community and human right activists gathering to commemorate International Day in Support of Victims of Torture on June 26.
A major media campaign was launched this week for the first time in Lebanon, with more than 300 billboards nationwide depicting a man with a bare back with the words, “It’s no pleasure to be tortured by you,” written across him.
ALEF (Act for Human Rights) is a civil society group spearheading the campaign, whose title is a play on words in Arabic, and hints at the leniency in Lebanese attitudes toward torture.
Indeed, according to an ALEF report, sponsored by the Dutch Embassy and published this week, violence and the practice of torture and ill-treatment are widely tolerated in Lebanese society as punishment for alleged criminals.
“A campaign like this has never been done in Lebanon to approach torture. This is a topic that stands apart from other human rights issues, it is a very sensitive one,” said Darine al-Hage, ALEF executive director.
“Torture cannot be as acceptable and common as this saying is, we hope this campaign will trigger a change in the perception and justification of torture,” she added.
An estimated 700 torture cases were reported in Lebanon in the last two years, according to ALEF.
Namour, however, remained skeptical while he attended one of many human rights events this week.
“I am transparent, but the system [of torture] is not,” he explained, while condemning the lack of service provisions for victims.
Now retired and holding a faded picture of his four children, Namour explains that his shop was burgled as he was beaten senseless and all of his four children were kidnapped on June 3, 2000.
With no way of seeking justice, he is now applying for a visa to France as he says “there is nothing I can do from here in Lebanon.”
But Namour is certainly not the only one with such stories to tell.
Studies show that 60 percent of people arrested and investigated between 2009 and 2010 reported being subjected to torture, according to an EU-sponsored report published earlier this year by the Lebanese Center for Human Rights.
As harrowing as these figures may be, however, CLDH secretary-general Wadih Asmar insists statistics alone cannot be the driving force behind the campaign to stop torture.
“It is not about numbers; torture is practiced [deliberately] and used by judicial systems,” he said earlier this week at a CLDH-organized event.
“This should be stopped. The cases that come to our attention indicate a trend, and one case is already enough.”
From the variety of bloodcurdling instruments of the Middle Ages to contemporary secret holding facilities, human rights activists argue that torture, as a form of interrogation, yields no tangible results.
“Torture, whether mental or physical, does not decrease [crime prevalence] in the countries where it is practiced. It also hinders the proceedings of the judiciary as suspects investigated under torture are forced to sign pre-prepared confession statements,” the CLDH secretary-general said.
Although Lebanon has signed relevant international treaties, domestic laws fail to uphold the international definition of torture, said ALEF.
To overcome the gap, several rights organizations are calling for the implementation of an independent National Preventive Mechanism, which would monitor and conduct visits to prisons and detention centers, in line with Lebanon’s international obligations.
“It is critical to push the legal and legislative aspect regarding torture,” Asmar said.
“Having a NPM will not be the solution for everything, but it will be a significant step toward reducing torture. I hope we will be talking next year and at the very least this will have been made a reality.”
As a former member of the South Lebanon Army militia, which assisted Israeli occupation between 1978 and 2000, Namour claims there can be no fresh starts in Lebanon and that he will be relentlessly targeted by state and non-state actors alike. He claims he was tortured 27 times, the last instance happening as recently as May 19.
“I have no faith that torture will stop,” Namour told The Daily Star.
“All of these military officials that appear to care [in public], it is just a front for what is going on behind the scenes,” he said.
His words are an urgent reminder to the international community and human right activists gathering to commemorate International Day in Support of Victims of Torture on June 26.
A major media campaign was launched this week for the first time in Lebanon, with more than 300 billboards nationwide depicting a man with a bare back with the words, “It’s no pleasure to be tortured by you,” written across him.
ALEF (Act for Human Rights) is a civil society group spearheading the campaign, whose title is a play on words in Arabic, and hints at the leniency in Lebanese attitudes toward torture.
Indeed, according to an ALEF report, sponsored by the Dutch Embassy and published this week, violence and the practice of torture and ill-treatment are widely tolerated in Lebanese society as punishment for alleged criminals.
“A campaign like this has never been done in Lebanon to approach torture. This is a topic that stands apart from other human rights issues, it is a very sensitive one,” said Darine al-Hage, ALEF executive director.
“Torture cannot be as acceptable and common as this saying is, we hope this campaign will trigger a change in the perception and justification of torture,” she added.
An estimated 700 torture cases were reported in Lebanon in the last two years, according to ALEF.
Namour, however, remained skeptical while he attended one of many human rights events this week.
“I am transparent, but the system [of torture] is not,” he explained, while condemning the lack of service provisions for victims.
Now retired and holding a faded picture of his four children, Namour explains that his shop was burgled as he was beaten senseless and all of his four children were kidnapped on June 3, 2000.
With no way of seeking justice, he is now applying for a visa to France as he says “there is nothing I can do from here in Lebanon.”
But Namour is certainly not the only one with such stories to tell.
Studies show that 60 percent of people arrested and investigated between 2009 and 2010 reported being subjected to torture, according to an EU-sponsored report published earlier this year by the Lebanese Center for Human Rights.
As harrowing as these figures may be, however, CLDH secretary-general Wadih Asmar insists statistics alone cannot be the driving force behind the campaign to stop torture.
“It is not about numbers; torture is practiced [deliberately] and used by judicial systems,” he said earlier this week at a CLDH-organized event.
“This should be stopped. The cases that come to our attention indicate a trend, and one case is already enough.”
From the variety of bloodcurdling instruments of the Middle Ages to contemporary secret holding facilities, human rights activists argue that torture, as a form of interrogation, yields no tangible results.
“Torture, whether mental or physical, does not decrease [crime prevalence] in the countries where it is practiced. It also hinders the proceedings of the judiciary as suspects investigated under torture are forced to sign pre-prepared confession statements,” the CLDH secretary-general said.
Although Lebanon has signed relevant international treaties, domestic laws fail to uphold the international definition of torture, said ALEF.
To overcome the gap, several rights organizations are calling for the implementation of an independent National Preventive Mechanism, which would monitor and conduct visits to prisons and detention centers, in line with Lebanon’s international obligations.
“It is critical to push the legal and legislative aspect regarding torture,” Asmar said.
“Having a NPM will not be the solution for everything, but it will be a significant step toward reducing torture. I hope we will be talking next year and at the very least this will have been made a reality.”
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