Lebanese Center for Human Rights
Press
Release
Soldier
Tortures in Private Female Domestic Worker
A member of the
Lebanese military has tortured a female domestic worker whom he suspected of
stealing his service weapon and jewelry from his home.
The soldier
initially identified several suspects, but then fifteen days after the theft he
is alleged to have taken a female domestic worker – who had denied any contact
with the missing items – to a house in the countryside accompanied by other
individuals, and proceeded to hang the young girl upside down by her feet in
the bathroom using handcuffs. He is also alleged to have subjected her to electric
shocks during most of the night, as well as burns using a red hot knife, in
order to force her to incriminate herself and admit guilt in the theft.
Despite her
complaints, and with traces of torture on her body, the domestic worker was
sentenced to one year in prison for theft, and her appeal in court was
dismissed.
Worse yet, at
the end of the young woman's trial in early 2013, her employer refused to pay
for her plane ticket to return to her home country. The CLDH (Lebanese Center
for Human Rights) financed her repatriation, a full ten months after she had
served her sentence.
The CLDH
requests that an investigation be launched in this matter, and that this member
of the military be held accountable in a manner commensurate with the
perpetrated acts. The Judiciary is requested to take all allegations of torture
consistently and seriously, short of which egregious acts of this nature will
continue.
Beirut, April 8, 2013
Press contact: Wadih Al-Asmar, Secretary
General of CLDH: 70 950780
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Centre Libanais des Droits Humains
Communiqué de presse
Un militaire torture une employée de maison en
privé
Un militaire libanais a torturé une employée de maison qu’il soupçonnait de
lui avoir subtilisé son arme de service et des bijoux à domicile.
Le militaire a soupçonné plusieurs personnes, puis quinze jours après le
vol, alors que l’employée affirmait ne pas avoir touché aux affaires disparues,
le militaire
