Lebanese priests ‘disappeared’

By: Roni Harb and Amnesty International

Suleiman Abu Khalil and Albert Sherfan, Christian priests from the Deir al-Qal’ah Monastery in Beit Meri, Lebanon, “disappeared” on 13 October 1990 during the Lebanese civil war (1975 - 1990). They “disappeared” with over 20 Lebanese soldiers who had apparently taken refuge in the monastery.

At least 646 Lebanese nationals have “disappeared” during and since the war. Arrested or abducted by Syrian military forces or by Lebanese and Palestinian militias in Lebanon, hundreds were transferred to Syria and detained without due legal process. Others were arrested in Syria. Conflicting statements by the Syrian authorities suggest there are between none and hundreds of Lebanese still detained.

AI receives occasional reports about Lebanese still detained in Syria.

At least two commissions have been set up in Lebanon to investigate the fate of the “disappeared” but the findings were not made public and there have been no criminal investigations.

A new joint Syrian-Lebanese committee was set up in May to investigate the fate of the “disappeared”. The Lebanese component of the committee is neither fully independent nor sufficiently empowered.

However, it does offer potential for progress, particularly since the Syrian withdrawal of its troops from Lebanon in April.

There is still no information about the Syrian component of the joint committee, despite the UN Human Rights Committee’s repeated recommendation that the Syrian authorities establish an independent and credible commission of inquiry into all “disappearances”.

.. Please write to the Syrian President and the Lebanese Minister of Justice welcoming the creation of this new committee and urging them to ensure that:

It is as independent and credible as possible; its findings are made public; details of the whereabouts of Fathers Suleiman Abu Khalil and Albert Sherfan and the hundreds of others who are missing be promptly provided; and that anyone found to be responsible for the “disappearances” be brought to justice.

Send appeals to: President Bashar al-Assad, Presidential Palace, Abu Rummaneh, al-Rashid Street, Damascus, Syria. Fax: + 963 11 332 3410; and to: Charles Rizk, Minister of Justice, Ministry of Justice, Rue Sami Solh, Beirut, Lebanon. Fax: +961 1 427 975.