The SubCommittee on Human Rights (DROI) organizes a haring on the situation in prisons in Syria and Lebanon, in the European Parliament, Brussels.

Brussels

EU - Syria (T)

EU - Lebanon (T)

respect for human rights in the world (T)

hearing

Situation in prisons in Syria and Lebanon: extracts from the hearing

SOUNDBITE (English), Nadim HOURY, Senior researcher of Human Rights Watch for Syria Lebanon based in Beirut, The main problem in Lebanon is overpopulation in the prison. Currently there are 5500 prisoners for a capacity that the State says there is of 3700 in our view the actual capacity is even less. Why the overpopulation? I think this is the key factor here; The problem is not building bigger prisons but rather first lengthy pre-trial detention. And if you look at the statistics from the internal security forces in Lebanon, you find that over 66 % of the total number of people in jail are pre- trial detainees, and the second main reason is the detention of foreigners after the end of their prison term.

SOUNDBITE (English), Nadim HOURY, Senior researcher of Human Rights Watch for Syria Lebanon based in Beirut, It is very important for the EU to remain engaged in this process in Lebanon but not just to help build better buildings but to actually uses the opportunity to change the practises that exist today in Lebanon. As I mentioned overcrowding, if you add 66% of pre trail detainees and 13 % if foreigners who finished serving their sentence, you end up with a scary persentage of 79 % of detainees in Lebanon who are not convicted or who have finished serving their sentence.

SOUNDBITE (English), Nadim HOURY, Senior researcher of Human Rights Watch for Syria Lebanon based in Beirut, Finally we are still waiting for serious investigation into torture allegations and here just as a footnote, Lebanon has signed and ratified the optional protocol ot the Convention against torture but has not yet created a national prevention mechanism and has not even submitted its initial report du under the Convention against torture which is 9 years overdue.

SOUNDBITE (English), Iyas EL-MALEH, Human Right activist from Syria in exile, Enforced disappearances in Syria became very common in the seventies to the point that we have more than 17000 cases reported in 1979. Although these disappearances did not happen during the term of Bashar El Assad but he has not done anything in order to resolve this issue.

SOUNDBITE (English), Iyas EL-MALEH, Human Right activist from Syria in exile, When you talk to anyone of the released prisoners regardless of their age, and the length of their detention you will hear stories of beating and torture under all kinds of tools, physuical and mental totrture is still apply as a pulishment style or to extract information in the syrian security branches among of which the criminal one. There are many torture methods applied in those branches among of which are torture with water, burning with cigarettes, hitting with electrical cable, wind carpets, slashing, htting and kicking, whipping on the feet, insulting ,threatening to torture the family members, wife, mothers, sons, daughters or other family members; torture led to many death especially among Kurdish detainees

SOUNDBITE (English), Iyas EL-MALEH, Human Right activist from Syria in exile, Prison conditions are horrible to say the least , for example, Mr Haytham El Maleh prison cell is abourt 60 sq meteres shared with 60 other common criminals. For a priosner to go to the bathroom he must step over bodies laying down on the floor. Mr Maleh sleeps ona thin mattress on the floor; he is denied access to his medication, his lawyers are not able to speak to him freely, mr EL Maleh is always accompanied by a prison guard unlike other prisoners when visiting the prison Doctor. Mr EL Maleh has been denied access to any reading materials.

SOUNDBITE (English), Iyas EL-MALEH, Human Right activist from Syria in exile, I would like to mention briefly the stuggle of the lawyers, who try to defend the prisoners in Syria where impunity exist for those committing Human Rights crimes; beside the harrassment they get from the security apparatus they also face harassment by the Syrian bar association which is not an independent entity and it is an arm of the Regime.

SOUNDBITE (English), Iyas EL-MALEH, Human Right activist from Syria in exile, I do beg you to do is in your conscience and when you sworn to uphold and help the Syrian people get the minimum rights they deserve . It is the Syrian people the friend you need and not the Syrian government.

SOUNDBITE (English), Iyas EL-MALEH, Human Right activist from Syria in exile, Signing unconditional agreement at this stage with a criminal regime will only make the EU an accomplice. Engagement with Syria is very important but not at the cost of Human Rights.