The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) expresses its deepest concern at the announced executions of three deaths convicts in Lebanon on Saturday 17 January 2004.
The FIDH has been informed that final execution orders have been signed for Ahmed Mansour, who was convicted of murdering eight employees of the Teachers Association Fund at TAF’s offices in Beirut’s Unesco district in July 2002, Badeih Hamadeh (alias Abu Obeida), who killed several Lebanese army troops near the Palestinian refugee camp of Ein El-Hilweh in July 2002 and Remie Zaatar, a civil defense activist who murdered four colleagues in June 2000.
The FIDH considers that the death penalty is contrary to human dignity and right to life proclamed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and by article 6 of the the Internatioal Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; ratified by Lebanon, which « strongly suggest that abolition is desirable » (Comment n° 6 on article 6). Several international instruments aim at its abolition in particular the Facultative Protoccol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Moreover, considering the current process of ratification of the Association Agreement between Lebanon and the EU and in the light of the Guidelines of EU policy towards third countries on the death penalty which states that the « EU will raise the issue of the death penalty in its dialogue with third countries (...) (including ) call for universal abolition of the death penalty, or at least a moratorium », the FIDH calls upon the Lebanese authorities not to proceed to the executions.
The FIDH is extremely concerned that Lebanon will thus put an end to the de facto moratorium on executions. Indeed, the FIDH welcomed the fact that no executions had been undertaken since November 1998. We now fear that other death convicts may also be executed.
The FIDH calls upon the highest Lebanese authorities not the proceed to these executions, to commute the sentences of all death convicts and to work towards abolishing the death penalty in Lebanon.
Sincerely yours,
Sidiki Kaba
President