Lebanon: Landmark Shura Council decision must mark a turning point in ending impunity for torture

Reacting to a decision by the State Shura Council, Lebanon’s highest administrative court, ordering the government to pay actor Ziad Itani a sum of 480 million Lebanese Liras (approximately 5,360USD) in reparations as a result of harm done to him by the Lebanese authorities through their failure to prohibit, prevent and adequately investigate his allegations of torture and other ill-treatment, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Kristine Beckerle, said today:

“This decision is a rare breakthrough for justice that must pave the way for an end to longstanding impunity for torture in Lebanon.

“Ziad Itani suffered a string of grave injustices and showed extreme courage in his fight for accountability. He was detained based on trumped-up charges, held in solitary confinement and subjected to torture and other ill-treatment, and denied access to a lawyer.

“By acknowledging Ziad Itani’s ordeal, finding that the Lebanese authorities’ failed in their obligations to prevent torture, and ordering them to pay him reparations, the Shura Council has taken a significant step towards implementing the country’s 2017 anti-torture law – a law that key actors in Lebanon have refused to implement for seven years.

This decision is a rare breakthrough for justice that must pave the way for an end to longstanding impunity for torture in Lebanon. - Kristine Beckerle, Deputy Regional Director for MENA

“Most recently, Lebanon’s military court failed to hold accountable perpetrators of the torture that led to the death in custody of Syrian refugee Bashar Abd Saud on 5 November 2024. However, the State Shura Council’s decision finally offers torture survivors in Lebanon a glimmer of hope for justice. The Lebanese authorities must now take action to ensure that perpetrators of torture are held accountable, that all people in detention are protected from torture and other ill-treatment, and that those subjected to gross human rights abuses are provided effective remedy.”

Background:

In August 2020, Itani’s lawyer filed a complaint before the State Shura Council.  The council’s decision, issued on 5 December 2024 and made public on 10 March 2025, acknowledges the State’s failure to prohibit acts of torture, protect the presumption of innocence, and conduct the necessary investigations and prosecutions to ensure that perpetrators of torture and other ill-treatment are held accountable.

On 23 November 2017, the General Directorate of State Security arrested Itani on fabricated charges of spying for Israel. When he stood for the first time before a Military Judge, Itani provided a detailed description of the torture he was subjected to in detention, but the court failed to order an investigation. On 13 March 2018, the Military Court acquitted Itani and ordered his release.

On 20 November 2018, Itani filed a civil anti-torture lawsuit against those who investigated his case, but the case never reached trial. After this Itani filed a complaint before the State Shura Council requesting reparations.

In October 2017, Lebanon ratified an anti-torture law. As well as criminalizing torture, the law specifies the inadmissibility of statements extracted under torture, urges the public prosecutor to act on complaints or notices of torture within 48 hours, establishes the right to rehabilitation, and declares torture to be a crime non-justifiable by necessity or national security requirements. The law has shortcomings, including failing to explicitly state that Lebanon’s Military Court is not qualified to hear cases involving allegations of torture.

Since its passing in 2017, Amnesty International has documented dozens of complaints under the anti-torture law number 65/2017 that were not effectively investigated and never reached trial.