A number of Lebanese human rights organizations, supported by other Arab and foreign groups, have submitted an open letter to the United Nations calling for pressure on the authorities to stop repressive practices against activists in Lebanon and to protect their right to freedom of expression on social media.
The organizations addressed the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad al-Hussein and the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, David Kaye, expressing deep concern about the situation of human rights in Lebanon.
The letter came in response to a wave of summonses of dozens of activists, the last of whom was the president of the Lebanese Center for Human Rights, Wadih Asmar, last Thursday, who was called for questioning by the cybercrime unit because of statements posted on his Facebook account.
The organizations noted that since 2016, more than 39 summonses have been issued against citizens, including journalists, for criticizing officials or the military. Those have been charged under Articles 383 to 386 of the Criminal Code, which criminalize contempt, slander and defamation of state officials.
In the letter, the organizations urged the UN and the Special Rapporteur to exert pressure on the Lebanese authorities to abide by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the freedom of expression and belief, to reduce violations and to establish the necessary accountability mechanisms to prevent the recurrence of such practices.
Wissam Ghali, executive director of the Lebanese human rights watchdog ALEF - one of the associations that signed the letter – told Asharq Al-Awsat that five days after the letter was sent to the UN and to the ministries of interior and justice in Lebanon, the United Nations and the Office of the Special Rapporteur started communicating with a large number of activists whose names appeared in the letter, to get more information on what they have been subjected to.
Ghali emphasized two main objectives. First to urge the Lebanese authorities to limit these arrests and to call for UN action, although this is not the first time that organizations have taken such a step, without seeing any positive reaction in Lebanon.
The signatories include the Lebanese Institute for Democracy and Human Rights (LIFE), Karama Foundation, the Association for Freedom and Equality in the Middle East and North Africa and the Arab NGO Network for Development, the Arab Network for Democratic Elections, the Lebanese Association for Democratic Elections, the Center for the Defense of Media and Cultural Freedoms (SKeyes), and Umam Documentation and Research.
