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BEIRUT: A local NGO is spearheading a bottom-up approach to improve the treatment of prisoners by training and monitoring security officers, a method that it and the Internal Security Forces say is working.
More than 1.2 million euros in funding from the European Union Commission has been put to use by the local NGO Association for Justice and Mercy (AJEM), and the ISF to monitor prisons and train security officials with the aim of improving treatment and ending the torture of prisoners and detainees throughout the country.
“Although there are insufficient and ambiguous articles within the Penal Code, we have found that bringing change from the bottom-up will lead us to a real change in the country’s legal system,” said Father Hadi Aya, the president of AJEM.
In 2008, Lebanon ratified the Optional Protocol of the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, but the government has failed to implement article 17 of the protocol, which requires the government to establish a National Preventative Mechanism against different kinds of torture and human rights violations of detainees.
Speaking to The Daily Star, Aya said that two training sessions conducted by French security officials are helping to reshape the relationship between ISF officers and detainees in both prisons and temporary detention centers.
“Some 40 majors in the ISF have received their certificates after completing an important training session, which aimed to familiarize officers with conduct that is in line with human rights,” Aya said.
Aya also backed up the head of the torture monitoring committee, Brigadier Charbel Matar, who said Thursday that since the April riots in Roumieh prison, reported cases of torture have dropped 70 percent as a result of new policies adopted by the ISF.
In a ceremony at the French Embassy Thursday, 20 ISF officers received their certificates after completing the three-day training.
According to Aya, the ISF officers benefited from the expertise shared by the French officials and added that an additional 900 ISF majors will receive training in the coming months.
Following the distribution of the certificates, one trainee told The Daily Star that “most of us lacked the most important and up-to-date information related to modern laws being implemented [abroad] … through this training, we now better understand the proper conditions we should provide our officers who deal with detainees,” said the trainee, who declined to give his name.
“Also, there was an exchange of information and expertise that we shared from our experience in the country,” the trainee added.
Mark Pasotti, a security official at the French Embassy, said that the questioning of detainees in police custody without defined methods is a major problem in the country.
“Matters like, when should an arrested person be considered in police custody? When should interrogations stop? And how to differentiate incidents from accidents?” said Pasotti, who took part in the training of Lebanese officers last year.
Pasotti added that integrating these methods into the training given to ISF officials will go far in meeting the objective of the EU-funded project.
“We are bringing the soft power of knowledge and training, and we have confidence in Lebanon’s ability to play its role and rebuild the institutional structures ... and follow up on the trainings for other officers,” Pasotti added.
According to Pasotti, ISF officials seem to have the necessary level of will to commit to the program, its methods and teachings.
He also said that incorporating ideas and suggestions of detainees into the seminar helped officers evaluate and think of ways on how they can improve their interaction with the prisoners. – with additional reporting by Enora Castagné
More than 1.2 million euros in funding from the European Union Commission has been put to use by the local NGO Association for Justice and Mercy (AJEM), and the ISF to monitor prisons and train security officials with the aim of improving treatment and ending the torture of prisoners and detainees throughout the country.
“Although there are insufficient and ambiguous articles within the Penal Code, we have found that bringing change from the bottom-up will lead us to a real change in the country’s legal system,” said Father Hadi Aya, the president of AJEM.
In 2008, Lebanon ratified the Optional Protocol of the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, but the government has failed to implement article 17 of the protocol, which requires the government to establish a National Preventative Mechanism against different kinds of torture and human rights violations of detainees.
Speaking to The Daily Star, Aya said that two training sessions conducted by French security officials are helping to reshape the relationship between ISF officers and detainees in both prisons and temporary detention centers.
“Some 40 majors in the ISF have received their certificates after completing an important training session, which aimed to familiarize officers with conduct that is in line with human rights,” Aya said.
Aya also backed up the head of the torture monitoring committee, Brigadier Charbel Matar, who said Thursday that since the April riots in Roumieh prison, reported cases of torture have dropped 70 percent as a result of new policies adopted by the ISF.
In a ceremony at the French Embassy Thursday, 20 ISF officers received their certificates after completing the three-day training.
According to Aya, the ISF officers benefited from the expertise shared by the French officials and added that an additional 900 ISF majors will receive training in the coming months.
Following the distribution of the certificates, one trainee told The Daily Star that “most of us lacked the most important and up-to-date information related to modern laws being implemented [abroad] … through this training, we now better understand the proper conditions we should provide our officers who deal with detainees,” said the trainee, who declined to give his name.
“Also, there was an exchange of information and expertise that we shared from our experience in the country,” the trainee added.
Mark Pasotti, a security official at the French Embassy, said that the questioning of detainees in police custody without defined methods is a major problem in the country.
“Matters like, when should an arrested person be considered in police custody? When should interrogations stop? And how to differentiate incidents from accidents?” said Pasotti, who took part in the training of Lebanese officers last year.
Pasotti added that integrating these methods into the training given to ISF officials will go far in meeting the objective of the EU-funded project.
“We are bringing the soft power of knowledge and training, and we have confidence in Lebanon’s ability to play its role and rebuild the institutional structures ... and follow up on the trainings for other officers,” Pasotti added.
According to Pasotti, ISF officials seem to have the necessary level of will to commit to the program, its methods and teachings.
He also said that incorporating ideas and suggestions of detainees into the seminar helped officers evaluate and think of ways on how they can improve their interaction with the prisoners. – with additional reporting by Enora Castagné
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