By Emma Gatten
BEIRUT: The Order of Physicians issued a circular Tuesday telling
doctors they will face disciplinary measures if they carry out anal
examinations ordered by the judiciary intended to provide evidence of
homosexuality.
“Such techniques do not give the
desired result and constitute a gross violation of the rights of persons who
are subject to it without their consent,” the circulation, which is signed by
the head of the Order, Sharaf Abu Sharaf reads.
“The practice is humiliating and is
torture in violation of the [United Nations] Convention Against Torture.
Therefore, we ask you to avoid carrying out any similar action under penalty of
disciplinary prosecution.”
The practice, which is carried out
on those suspected of homosexuality under Article 534 before charges are handed
out, gained media attention after the arrest of 35 individuals on July 28 in a
police raid on a porn cinema in Beirut’s Burj Hammoud district. All 35 were
subject to the test before three were charged under Article 534.
The case and subsequent outcry
prompted legal rights research group Legal Agenda to issue letters to the Order
of Physicians and the Justice Ministry to cease carrying out the tests.
Human rights lawyer and co-founder
of Legal Agenda Nizar Saghieh welcomed the order’s response. “I am really
thankful that [our] demands were accepted,” he said.
He called on the Justice Ministry to
follow suit in banning the practice and criticized its response so far. The
ministry Sunday reissued a circular which says prosecutors must obtain consent
before the tests take place. But in a twist, the circular adds that refusing
the test can be used as evidence of homosexuality, according to a copy printed
on Legal Agenda’s website.
Justice Minister Shakib Qortbawi
insisted that the memo was sufficient. “I am sure prosecutors will not continue
doing anything like that,” he said.
But Saghieh asked for a much clearer
response from the ministry. He’s asking Qortbawi “to clarify this position, to
say in a very clear way that he is for or against these tests,” he said.
The order’s dismissal of the test’s
scientific value weakens the Justice Ministry’s logic for continuing to use it,
Saghieh said, and may also provide a basis for removing such evidence from
ongoing cases, including those of the three men recently charged.
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