London - ImpACT International for Human Rights Policies said that the Public Prosecution Office in Lebanon should take deterrent accountability measures and ensure a thorough and appropriate investigation into an incident where a group of people, including Syrian refugees, were severely beaten by a Lebanese man. Aiming to evade accountability, the Lebanese man accused the group of theft while they worked on his farmland.

The London-based think tank expressed its shock over the circulating videos that show the beating and torture of a group of people, including minors, in the Aqoura area in the Byblos District of Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate, Lebanon. The incident is a new indication of the absence of guarantees for workers’ rights in the country.

According to a statement by the Internal Security Forces Directorate on Monday, 20^th June 2022, the Aqoura police station received a complaint from the man (the aggressor) accusing the people he assaulted of stealing one hundred million Lebanese pounds. After circulating videos showing his assault on them, an investigation was opened and it was decided to bring him in for a statement.

The unfortunate incident is a natural result of the official failure in Lebanon to hold employers accountable for violations

According to information obtained by ImpACT, the man shown in the videos assaulted the workers picking cherries from his farmland in the Majdel el-Aqoura area.

He also accused the workers of stealing sums of money and belongings. When they denied the charges, he brought others and assaulted the workers with severe beatings and insults.

The assault, according to identical testimonies, included “beatings, floggings, and tasering while throwing water on their bodies.”

ImpACT has reviewed a statement issued by the municipality of Fnideq stating that “several young men were assaulted, beaten and humiliated after being accused of theft, he did this to evade paying them. What happened was a heinous crime that deserves the most severe punishment.”

While the head of the Union of Jurd al-Qayta Municipalities (Northern Lebanon), Abdelilah Zakaria, stated that the victims are “young men who leave their areas and cross tens and hundreds of kilometres, in light of the stifling economic crisis, to secure a livelihood for their families.”

He added, “We learned that among the workers, there are three Lebanese men from the town of Fnideq (Akkar), and the rest are Syrian workers.”

ImpACT asserts that what happened with these workers is a clear violation of Lebanese law, and requires immediate action from all competent authorities to punish the aggressor, as well as the security agents complicit in the assault.

ImpACT stresses that this unfortunate incident is a natural result of the official failure in Lebanon to hold employers accountable for violations and that police and prosecutors often do not conduct adequate investigations into allegations of violence or abuse against workers, especially refugee workers.

The incident also sheds light on Lebanon's notorious “Kafala” system that exposes vulnerable migrant workers to exploitation, abuse and restrictive laws, and gives the employer significant power over their lives.