The Beirut skyline. (Credit: João Sousa / L’Orient Today)
BEIRUT — The Internal Security Forces (ISF) issued a press release Tuesday detailing the circumstances surrounding the abduction, sequestration, assault and rape of a female minor in the Sabra neighborhood of Beirut's southern suburbs at the end of August.
The ISF said they received a complaint from the mother of the 14-year-old teenager, after a video of her assault circulated on social networks. The victim, who was interviewed by police, claimed that a woman, M.Z, whom she had known for two months, invited her to her home on August 30, where the crime took place.
The woman, assisted by two men, forced the girl into the apartment and beat her with a water hose, injuring her left leg and right arm. The minor was then held for three weeks before managing to escape, she explained to police.
Suspects arrested
On Sept. 25, the ISF arrested G. A., a 19-year-old suspect who confessed to beating the teenager, filming the crime and sending the video to the assailant H. K., 40, who admitted to committing rape, and M. Z., 18, who admitted to beating her on the pretext that she was spreading rumors about her reputation.
The suspects were handed over to the relevant authorities, the police announced. A source in the Lebanese Army's intelligence services told L'Orient Le-Jour on Monday that the three suspects are members of a prostitution ring.
The murky affair is reminiscent of that of five-year-old Lynn Taleb, who died on June 29 following repeated sexual assault. Four members of Taleb's maternal family are currently facing the death penalty.
