Advocacy / Lebanon

Global legal and rule of law community stands in solidarity with Lebanese lawyer Nizar Saghieh

MENA Rights Group joins 30+ organisations in expressing solidarity with Lebanese lawyer Nizar Saghieh who was subjected to reprisal by the Beirut Bar Association for his exercise of freedom of expression.

Global coalition of civil society and media organisations stand in solidarity with independent media outlets in Lebanon amid targeting

MENA Rights Group joined a coalition of civil society and media organisations in condemning the summoning of Lebanese journalists for exercising their rights. We call on Lebanese authorities to respect, uphold and protect freedom of expression and freedom of the press.

Coalition to defend freedom of expression: authorities must respect freedoms of the press and legal profession and fundamentally amend defamation laws

As part of the Coalition to Defend Freedom of Expression in Lebanon, MENA Rights Group condemned the authorities' attempts to restrict freedom of expression by summoning journalists for investigation.

Boats of death: Killing borders and lost justice

On the Global Day of CommemorAction for the Dead, Missing and Forcefully Disappeared at Sea and the Borders, a group of civil society organisations reminds all of the tragic fates suffered by migrants and refugees attempting to leave Lebanon, and calls on Lebanese authorities and the international community to take action.

Lebanon: Syrian Refugee Apparently Tortured to Death

In a joint statement published on September 26, 2022, Human Rights Watch, Legal Agenda, Amnesty International, and MENA Rights Group affirmed that the Lebanese authorities should transfer the prosecution of security force members charged in the torture and murder of a Syrian refugee from inherently unfair military courts to the ordinary criminal courts.

Press release on the situation of Syrian detainees and prisoners in Lebanon

The Lebanese State Security arrested the Syrian refugee Bashar Abdel Saoud on 30 August 2022. Abdel Saoud was tortured to death by a number of officers and soldiers. The victim's photo, which shows clear signs of torture on his body, was leaked and spread over social media platforms. While several press reports confirmed that Bashar Abdel Saoud had been subjected to brutal torture, burns, and bruises - all over his body - caused by severe beatings and flogging with metal wires.

Joint Statement to Lebanese Authorities: Enforce Lebanon’s Anti-Torture Law

On the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, we, the undersigned organizations, call on the Lebanese authorities to effectively protect everyone in its territory, including those in detention, from torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment. The authorities should investigate all allegations of torture and ill-treatment and the perpetrators of such acts should be prosecuted, brought to trial and, if found guilty, sentenced to appropriate punishment.

Joint letter calling on the Lebanese authorities for an independent, impartial, and transparent investigation into the causes of the recent shipwreck off the coast of Tripoli

A coalition of eight human rights organisations is calling on the Lebanese authorities to conduct an independent, impartial and transparent investigation into the causes of the recent shipwreck off Tripoli on April 23, 2022.

Urgent appeal: Rights organizations call on Lebanese authorities to cease the intimidation of human rights lawyer Mohammed Sablouh

Human rights organizations are gravely concerned by the Lebanese authorities’ recent attempts to silence and discredit Mohammed Sablouh, a human rights lawyer defending victims of torture and Syrian refugees facing deportation. The actions of the Lebanese authorities represent an unacceptable infringement on the work of lawyers and other human rights defenders, in light of Lebanon’s ongoing failure to meet its legal obligations to prevent and punish the use of torture and to abide by the principle of non-refoulement.

Joint letter to the Human Rights Council calling for an international investigative mission into the Beirut blast

In a joint letter, MENA Rights and 38 human rights groups, survivors of the Beirut Blast, families of victims and individuals sent an urgent appeal to the UN Human Rights Council urging the council to establish an investigative body into the explosion, as Lebanon leaders continue to obstruct domestic inquiry.