Rights groups urge civilian investigation into Syrian detainee's death by alleged torture

BEIRUT — Rights groups condemned on Monday the death last month by alleged torture of Bashar Abed Al Saud, a Syrian detainee who had been held at a regional office of the State Security in Bint Jbeil, South Lebanon.

The groups, which included Human Rights Watch, Legal Agenda, Amnesty International, and MENA Rights Group, urged Lebanese authorities via an online statement to refer the prosecution of security force members charged in the alleged torture "from inherently unfair military courts to the ordinary criminal courts."

Al Saud, 30 years old, allegedly died due to his heart stopping after violent treatment at the hands of security agents. Social media users afterward spread images of his remains. The pictures sparked public shock and anger. On Sept. 5, the State Security directorate said it would enforce "severe" punishments against those found guilty in the incident. Lebanese judicial officials had announced an investigation by the military prosecution. 

“Al Saud’s death during his detention at State Security requires a fair and comprehensive investigation in front of the ordinary judiciary, as the military justice system cannot bring justice for his family,” Ghida Frangieh, head of litigation at Legal Agenda, said in the joint online statement Monday.

According to the rights groups, Al Saud’s family submitted a torture complaint to the Cassation Public Prosecution on Sept. 8, through their lawyer Mohammad Sablouh. The prosecutor, Judge Ghassan Oueidat, referred the case to military prosecution. A subsequent request by Al Saud’s relatives to refer the case to the ordinary criminal courts also went to the military prosecutor, according to the rights groups.

The rights groups said that "referring the investigation to the military court is contrary to international law, as interpreted by treaty bodies, and article 15 of Lebanon’s Code of Criminal Procedure, which states that crimes that members of the judicial police commit while carrying out their duties as assistants to the public prosecution fall solely under the jurisdiction of the ordinary judiciary."

The rights groups added that Al Saud’s relative and his lawyer Mohammad Sablouh said that Al Saud "was not allowed to call his family or have a lawyer present during his interrogation, in violation of his due process rights under international law and Lebanon’s Code of Criminal Procedure." His relative also said that "they did not know Al-Saud’s whereabouts until they received a call on Sept. 3 telling them to collect his body from the Tebneen Public Hospital in south Lebanon."