#Human Rights
Target:
President of the United Arab Emirates
Region:
United Arab Emirates
Website:
www.facebook.com

Since February 2018 Eight Lebanese nationals are arbitrarily detained in the UAE and facing an unfair trial on fabricated charges including forming a terrorist cell and planning terrorist attacks in the UAE on orders of Hezbollah in Lebanon. The majority of the detainees work for Emirates Airlines and have been living in UAE for over 15 years.

They were arrested by the State Security Apparatus between January and February 2018 and have since been held in prolonged solitary confinement. They were held without charges and without access to family and consular or legal assistance for 12 months, before their trial started on 13 February 2019. Even after 4 court appearances, neither their lawyers nor the Lebanese consular officials have been granted permission to visit them.

At least three of them were forced to sign “confession” documents that they were not allowed to read. One man at least was tortured and ill-treated for the first three months of his detention, including by having his head being run against a wall and being beaten and kicked, resulting with all his veneer teeth being broken.

Their family have only been allowed to visit them once. A member of one detainee’s family said that on the sole occasion they were allowed to see him, “His teeth were all broken, and his ear looked mangled. He said it was from all the beatings he got to the face. He said that after he fell unconscious one time, they continued to kick him. For five days, he wasn’t allowed to sit or to sleep. He was chained and his eyes were covered. Until this day, when he leaves his cell, he is blindfolded.”

Other detainees have shown increasing signs of severe psychological distress. Family members were allowed contact with their relatives via telephone but were told guards would end the call if conditions in the prison were discussed.

Families of the detainees insisted they have no political affiliations or any criminal history inside or outside the UAE. For over 15 years they have been working hard to secure a better future for their families and contributing to the UAE which they consider as their second home. The families hold serious concerns for the well-being of the detainees and have many doubts concerning the fairness of the trial given the conditions of the detention and the "confessions" obtained through torture and coercion.

The families urge the UAE Authorities, and particularly the President of the UAE to immediately release the eight men or to ensure that they are granted immediate and regular access to their lawyers, their family, to consular assistance and any medical care they may require in line with international law and standards. We also call upon you to ensure that any “confessions” obtained through torture, coercion and other ill-treatment are not used as evidence in court and that the men are protected from any further ill-treatment. I call on you to launch an independent and impartial investigation into the allegations of torture, in line with the Istanbul protocol on the Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

منذ شباط/فبراير 2018، تحتجز السلطات الإماراتية ثمانية مواطنين لبنانيين شيعة بشكلٍ تعسفي. يواجه الموقوفون محاكمه غير عادله بتهم ملفقه بما في ذلك تشكيل خليه إرهابيه والتخطيط لهجمات إرهابيه في الامارات بناء على أوامر من حزب الله في لبنان. معظم المحتجزين يعملون لدي طيران الامارات ويعيشون في الامارات منذ أكثر من 15 عاما. وقد القي جهاز أمن الدولة القبض عليهم في الفترة بين كانون الثاني/يناير وشباط/فبراير 2018 و وضعهم منذ ذلك الحين في الحبس الانفرادي لفترات طويلة من دون توجيه تهم اليهم أو تمكينهم من لقاء أسرهم أو الحصول على المساعدة القنصلية أو القانونية. إستمر هذا الوضع لمدة 12 شهرا ، قبل ان تبدا محاكمتهم في 13 شباط/فبراير 2019. وبالرغم من إنعقاد أربع جلسات محاكمة، لم يسمح للمحامين ولا للمسؤولين القنصليين اللبنانيين بزيارتهم.

وأرغم ثلاثه منهم علي الأقل علي التوقيع علي وثائق "اعتراف" لم يسمح لهم بقراءة مضمونها. وتعرض رجل آخر على الأقل للتعذيب وسوء المعاملة خلال الأشهر الثلاثة الاولي من احتجازه ، بما في ذلك عن طريق ضرب راسه بجدار وضربه وركله، مما ادي إلى كسر جميع أسنانه. ولم يسمح لأسرهم بزيارتهم الا مره واحدة. وقال فرد من عائلة أحد الموقوفين انه في المرة الوحيدة التي سمح لهم برؤيته ، "كانت أسنانه مكسوره، وبدت اذنه مشوهة. قال انه تعرض لضربات عديدة في الوجه وعلى الرغم من سقوطه على الأرض و فقدانه للوعي، واصل رجال الأمن ركله وتعذيبه. لم يسمح له بالجلوس أو النوم لمدة خمسة أيام، حيث كان مقيدا بالسلاسل وكانت عيناه مغطاين. وحتى هذا اليوم ، عندما يغادر زنزانته ، فانه يكون معصوب العينين ".

وقد اظهر محتجزون آخرون علامات متزايدة للضيق النفسي الشديد. و على الرغم من السماح للموقوفين بالإتصال بأسرهم عن طريق الهاتف، قيل لهم ان الحراس سينهون المكالمة إذا ما ناقشوا ظروف اعتقالهم في السجن. وأكدت العائلات ان الموقوفين ليس لديهم اي انتماءات سياسيه أو اي تاريخ إجرامي داخل الإمارات أو خارجها. وشددوا أن ابناءهم يعملون بجد منذ أكثر من 15 عاماً لتامين مستقبل أفضل لعائلاتهم والمساهمة في بناء الامارات العربية التي يعتبرونها وطنهم الثاني. ويساور الأسر قلق بالغ إزاء أوضاع المحتجزين وقد عبروا عن وجود شكوك كثيره لديهم فيما يتعلق بنزاهة المحاكمة بالنظر إلى ظروف الاحتجاز و"الاعترافات" المنتزعة تحت التعذيب والإكراه.

و تناشد العائلات السلطات الاماراتيه، ولا سيما ولي عهد أبو ظبي علي الإفراج فورا عن المعتقلين أو ضمان حصولهم علي الاتصال الفوري والمنتظم بمحاميهم وعائلاتهم والممثلين القنصلين وأي رعاية طبية قد يحتاجون اليها بما يتناسب مع القوانين والمعايير الدولية. وندعوكم أيضا إلى ضمان عدم استخدام اي "اعترافات" تم الحصول عليها عن طريق التعذيب والإكراه وغيره من صنوف المعاملة السيئة كدليل في المحكمة, وحماية الموقوفين من اي سوء معامله آخر. كما ندعوكم إلى اجراء تحقيق مستقل وشفاف في ادعاءات التعذيب، تمشيا مع بروتوكول إسطنبول المتعلق بالتقصي والتوثيق الفعالين بشان التعذيب وغيره من ضروب المعاملة أو العقوبة القاسية أو لاانسانيه أو المهينة.

Your Highness,

Eight Lebanese nationals arbitrarily detained in the UAE face an unfair trial on fabricated charges including forming a terrorist cell and planning terrorist attacks in the UAE on orders of Hezbollah in Lebanon. They were detained over a year ago and held ever since in solitary confinement. Their trial started on 13 February 2019 and their lawyers have yet to get access to them. At least two of them may have been forced to sign “confession” documents that they were not allowed to read. One man at least was tortured and ill-treated for the first three months of his detention, including by having his head being run against a wall and being beaten and kicked, resulting with all his veneer teeth being broken.

I urge you to immediately release the eight men and to ensure that the eight men are granted immediate and regular access to their lawyers, their family, consular assistance and any medical care they may require in line with international law and standards. We also call upon you to ensure that any “confessions” obtained through torture, coercion and other ill-treatment are not used as evidence in court and that the men are protected from any further ill-treatment. I call on you to launch an independent and impartial investigation into the allegations of torture, in line with the Istanbul protocol on the Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

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The Arbitrary Detention, Torture & Unfair Trial: Release 8 Lebanese detained in Abu Dhabi UAE petition to President of the United Arab Emirates was written by Ali Kansso and is in the category Human Rights at GoPetition.