Recorded Address by His Eminence Dr. Sheikh Salem Al-Rafei
Part of a series featuring statements by the Commission's leaders on the file of Islamist detainees and the General Amnesty Law (#Injustice_Is_Darkness)His Eminence Sheikh Salem Al-Rafei detailed the human and legal ordeal endured by Islamist detainees in Lebanon over the years, dismantling the pretexts repeatedly invoked by certain judicial and security bodies to obstruct their release.
Excerpts from His Eminence's Address:
"What has been and continues to be inflicted upon our youth and sheikhs inside Lebanese prisons is flagrant injustice — repudiated by faith, by law, and by the human conscience alike. Young men have spent years behind bars merely for voicing an opinion, on the strength of fabricated intelligence reports and paid informants, or for extending principled solidarity to the displaced and the oppressed."
Key Jurisprudential and Real-World Points He Stressed:
- Military and Exceptional Tribunals: He underscored that the trial of civilians before military courts constitutes a flagrant breach of the principles of justice and due process guarantees, in explicit contravention of the constitution and international treaties.
- Voiding Torture-Based Verdicts: He emphasized that any confession extracted through coercion, beatings, or torture in the basements of interrogation is null and void in law and in principle, and may not be invoked by the judiciary to issue life sentences or capital punishment.
- The Ordeal of Mothers, Wives, and Children: He drew attention to the profound human toll endured by dozens of families living in poverty and dispersal, their men having been held behind bars for years with no clear timeline for trial.
- A Comprehensive General Amnesty as a Religious Imperative: He noted that a general amnesty is not a concession granted by anyone, but rather a corrective course for a flawed judicial track and the closure of a file opened on the basis of discrimination and political targeting.
The Association of Muslim Scholars in Lebanon, through all its clerics and offices, places the cause of detainees at the forefront of its priorities and renews its pledge to the families of prisoners that their voices will not fall silent until the shackles are broken and full justice is realized.