Introduction

Cedar Centre for Legal Studies carried out a symbolic sit-in in front of the United Nations headquarters in Geneva, next to the Broken Chair monument, over two consecutive days, Tuesday, 20 January, and Wednesday, 21 December 2026. This sit-in was part of the Centre’s efforts to shed light on human rights violations inside detention facilities and to demand the implementation of relevant Lebanese and international laws, coinciding with Lebanon’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in Geneva.

The sit-in included the installation of a symbolic tent and the raising of multiple human rights banners expressing clear and direct demands. Passersby and visitors interacted with the messages and recommendations, stopping to read them and expressing interest and support for the issues raised.

Issues Raised

During the sit-in, Cedar Centre focused on a set of urgent human rights concerns, most notably:

• Violations of Article 47 of the Lebanese Code of Criminal Procedure, demanding detainees’ right to access a lawyer, undergo medical examinations, and communicate with their families from the earliest hours of detention.
• Implementation of Law 65/2017 criminalizing torture, affirming that torture is a crime and not a practice, and calling for the establishment of monitoring mechanisms inside detention facilities.
• Investigation of enforced disappearance crimes, demanding strengthened investigations, cooperation with the national authority concerned, and enforcement of Law 105/2018.
• Prevention of deaths inside detention facilities, calling for humane conditions for detainees and activation of independent monitoring.
• Establishment of an independent forensic institute in Lebanon to ensure proper investigation of deaths in custody, as recommended by the UN Special Rapporteur.
• Ending forced deportations and respecting the principle of non-refoulement, ensuring Lebanon’s compliance with its international obligations.
• Justice for Abdul Rahman Al-Qaradawi, demanding his immediate release after his deportation to the UAE on 8 January 2025.

The Centre also raised a special banner documenting the names of torture victims who died in custody, highlighting the persistence of a culture of torture in Lebanon, including:

• Nader Al-Bayoumi (2013)
• Hassan Al-Diqah (2019)
• Bashar Abdel Saud (2022)
• Mohammad Harqous (2026)
• Lebanon’s UPR 2026, calling on the country to commit to ending torture, enforced disappearance, and forced deportations, and to adopt a national mechanism for the prevention of torture.
• Accountability in the case of Bashar Abdel Saud, demanding independent, swift, and impartial investigations into his death under torture on August 31, 2022, in accordance with Law 65/2017.

Recommendations:

The Cedar Centre issued a set of human rights recommendations during the sit-in, most notably:

• Strengthening independent monitoring of detention facilities.
• Ensuring the implementation of national laws in line with international human rights standards.
• Activating the role of national bodies in investigating torture and enforced disappearance cases.
• Establishing an independent forensic institute to investigate deaths in custody.
• Ensuring transparency in missing persons’ files and enforcing Law 105/2018.
• Respecting the principle of non-refoulement and protecting refugees from forced deportation.
• Ending unlawful deportations and demanding the immediate release of arbitrarily detained individuals, foremost among them Abdul Rahman Al-Qaradawi.
• Adopting a national mechanism for the prevention of torture and suspending all deportations to countries where torture is likely.
• Conducting independent and urgent investigations into all allegations of torture, particularly in the case of Bashar Abdel Saud.