Amnesty International: "Lebanon's justice system is not endowed with the necessary political impartiality to investigate politically motivated crimes"

AFP, here

"Parliamentary elections next month offer Lebanon a chance to improve its human rights record and reform its judicial system, Amnesty International said on Thursday."The elections provide an opportunity to put the protection of human rights at the centre of the political agenda and public debate in Lebanon, during and after the election," the London-based human rights group said.

It said in a statement the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, a UN-backed court tasked with investigating the 2005 assassination of ex-premier Rafiq Hariri, was "a clear acknowledgement that Lebanon's justice system is not endowed with the necessary political impartiality to investigate such politically motivated crimes."

The court last week ordered the release of four generals who had been detained without charge for nearly four years in connection with the murder. Their detention was slammed as a failed political ploy by Hariri's foes in the opposition.

Amnesty also called for the end of all arbitrary detentions and the suspected use of torture by Lebanese security services."Individuals in Lebanon continue to be arrested and held for long periods without charge," the statement said."Torture and other ill-treatment remain common in Lebanon and appear to be perpetrated by a range of different security forces."

The group urged the Lebanese to put on their agenda in the run-up to the election the need to end impunity for human rights violators, to respect the rights of women, and especially foreign domestic workers, and to abolish the death penalty.

The June 7 vote is seen as important as it could see the current parliamentary majority, headed by Hariri's son Saad and backed by the West, ousted by an opposition led by the Shiite militant group Hezbollah."