Lebanon - Articles - Zimbio

The Roumieh Scandal and the silence of Lebanese Politicians

Mon, 19 Aug 2008 12:19:00 GMT

posted by biladsham

Children of Islamist prisoners detained in Roumieh protest in front of the United Nations headquarters (ESCWA) in downtown of Beirut, Lebanon, 19 August 2008.

About 200 women and children supporters of Islamist groups protested in the Lebanese capital Beirut demanding the release of scores of prisoners suspected of plotting or carrying out militant attacks that fought a 15-week battle in 2007 with the army in and around the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared north of Tripoli.

About 300 people have since been detained by the Lebanese authorities for their alleged links with Fatah al-Islam. Their shirts read: "Please free my dad".

Protest in Roumie jail goes on.. in the silence of the media

Fri, 16 Aug 2008 08:09:00 GMT

posted by biladsham

Lebanese Islamic women look on during a sit-in outside Roumieh prison in east Beirut, Lebanon, 15 August 2008, to demand the release from jail of alleged Islamist relatives.

The protest was organised by relatives of alleged members of Fatah al-Islam, an Al-Qaeda-inspired group that fought a 15-week battle in 2007 with the army in and around the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared north of Tripoli.

About 300 people have since been detained by the Lebanese authorities for their alleged links with Fatah al-Islam.

Lebanese Prisoner in Syria: Damascus, we have 100 criminals

Sun, 18 Aug 2008 14:26:00 GMT

posted by biladsham
The Syrian authorities have admitted the presence of "100 Lebanese criminals" detained in their prisons, Lebanese national news agency NNA reported, quoting Lebanese Foreign Minister, Fawzi Salloukh.

Salloukh, who last week accompanied Lebanese President Michel Suleiman on his official visit in Damascus, said that "in the Syrian prisons there are over 100 Lebanese who are serving sentences for crimes".

According to the association of the relatives of the Lebanese prisoners in Syria (Solide), "in the Syrian prisons there are over 600 Lebanese political prisoners", arrested by the Damascus security services and by the army during the 29 years of Syrian hegemony in the Land of Cedars (1976-2005).

In order to resolve the controversy which recently became topical in reference to the political approaching of the two countries, Salloukh called for the need to "launch talks between the respective justice ministries to verify the possibility to grant extradition to these prisoners".

Moreover, the Lebanese minister added that the Syrian authorities, in turn, "have given to Beirut a list of Syrian citizens missing in Lebanon".

United Nations: Israel violating resolution 1701 Against Lebanese

Thu, 15 Aug 2008 15:38:31 GMT

posted by Aleeka
The head of UN forces in Lebanon accuses Israelis of unilaterally violating a UN resolution that ended the 33-day war against the Lebanese. Head of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) Major-General Claudio Graziano criticized continued overflight of Israeli aircraft in Lebanon's airspace, and the refusal to provide a map of the zones riddled with Israeli mines and cluster bombs, a Press TV correspondent reported from Beirut. Graziano said Israel is turning a blind eye to the UN Security Council Resolution 1701 -which demands Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon in parallel with the deployment of UNIFIL and Lebanese soldiers throughout the South- and refuses to pull out its troops from the Lebanese part of southern al-Ghajar village. Speaking in the UN headquarters in New York, Graziano warned Tel Aviv of handing over any Israeli pilot whose plane crashes in Lebanese territory to Beirut authorities. He, however, reclined to comment on whether Lebanon had the right to down Israeli war planes in its airspace. The UN peacekeeping chief in Lebanon said Hezbollah recognizes the resolution 1701 and stressed that the UN has enjoyed excellent cooperation with Hezbollah and with the local Lebanese. Graziano asserted that apart from UN troops, Lebanese soldiers and hunters no one was armed south of the Litani River. The Italian general said that the UN mission had been successful in carrying out its mandate in maintaining the ceasefire that went into effect in 2006, stressing that the mission's presence was vital in ensuring stability in the area. He denied plans for changes in UNIFIL's mandate which he said was due to be renewed by the end of August.

"Not just in Israel, in Syria too''. Lebanese prisoners abroad

Sun, 21 Jul 2008 13:57:00 GMT

posted by biladsham

Parallel to the visit this morning in Lebanon of Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem, the Lebanese army prevented with force some hundreds of human rights activists and relatives of Lebanese detained for years in Syrian prisons from demonstrating in Beirut (picture above)

According to Lebanon's official news agency NNA, some hundreds of activists members of SOLIDE, the association of the relatives of the Lebanese 'missing in Syria's prisons', gathered along the road leading from Beirut to the Baabda presidential palace, where Moualem was received by President of the Republic of Lebanon Michel Suleiman. 'Army men prevented with force the demonstrators from coming near Moualem's
convoy,' said Lebanese television LBC, according to which the military also arrested an activist.

According to SOLIDE, some 600 Lebanese have been 'missing' in Syria's prisons since the Civil War (1975-90), and about half of them should be still alive. Moualem, in turn, assured reporters at the end of the meeting with Suleiman that 'a joint Lebanese-Syrian judicial commission is working on this dossier.

If I wanted, I could have brought with me the relatives of Syrians missing in Lebanon, but I did not do it,' the minister added.

(in the banner: "Not just in Israel, in Syria too")

Now’s exclusive interview with a Lebanese held in Syrian jail: Ali Abu Dehn

Not every Lebanese released from a foreign prison is greeted with the pomp and celebration seen yesterday. In 1987, Ali Abu al-Dehn went to Syria to obtain an immigration visa to Australia.

The Syrian Intelligence Services invited him over for a cup of coffee, arrested him and detained him for 13 years on charges of opposition to the Syrian presence in Lebanon. His release in December 2000 stands in stark contrast to yesterday’s fanfare. In an exclusive interview, he tells NOW Lebanon about his experience. (read more...)