The fifth trial session in the case of the murder of Bashar Al Saud took place on July 5 at the permanent military court in Beirut, exposing significant loopholes in the treatment of detainees and obstacles to the pursuit of justice in torture cases in Lebanon.
Al Saud was tortured to death during interrogation by members of the General Directorate of State Security Center in Tebnin on August 31, 2022, as established by the indictment, pursuant to which the defendants were referred to the Permanent Military Court. Critical evidence of torture was put forth during the session, including a video depicting clear signs of torture on the victim’s body and testimonies from forensic doctors who examined the corpse. According to one doctor, Al Saud’s death was a result of a violent beating that led to central nervous system inhibition. The second doctor affirmed that Al Saud's death can only be explained by the use of excessive force.
Despite the availability of compelling evidence, and the proven torture allegations, discussions were directed towards excluding torture and searching for other causes of the victim's death. There was a clear attempt at dismissing torture as a cause of death, rather than investigating the realities of the torture inflicted. The case documents clearly indicate that the laboratory test conducted on a urine sample taken from Al Saud’s body showed a negative result for drug usage.
During the hearing, the presiding judge raised the possibility that Bashar may have been beaten before arriving in Tebnin, stating that the responsibility cannot be placed solely on the officers facing trial. This raises questions about whether others participated in the torture, and why they weren’t investigated, prosecuted, and arrested yet, given that they haven’t investigated things further to this day.
Considering the outcome of the recent hearing, the Lebanese Center for Human Rights (CLDH) stresses the importance of urgently enforcing the Anti-Torture Law 65/2017 and the United Nations Convention Against Torture exclusively by the Ordinary Judiciary.
Moreover, the evident mistreatment of Al Saud underscores the critical need to broaden the scope of the investigation and hold all perpetrators of torture accountable, as well as all those who violate the basic safeguards stipulated in Article 47 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The Center also underscores the essential need to broaden the scope of investigation to encompass any personnel who held supervisory or administrative roles related to the case and may have condoned or failed to report the abuse.
CLDH additionally stresses the necessity of uncovering the truth and holding all individuals involved in Al Saud's death, which was caused by torture, accountable. This accountability is essential to achieve justice for the Al Saud family, prevent the recurrence of such cases, and ensure the proper treatment of detainees.
