Activist: Syrian defector unlawfully detained in Lebanon

November 18, 2012

The Daily Star.

BEIRUT: A Syrian man who abandoned his job in the embassy in Lebanon and joined a nonprofit organization has been unlawfully detained, the executive director of the NGO, Nabil Halabi, claimed Sunday.

"Based on a complaint against him by the Syrian Embassy for impersonation, Nizar [al-Sharee] was detained by General Security in Lebanon via a search warrant,” Halabi told The Daily Star.

He added that Sharee should have been informed of the search warrant prior to his detention which took place Saturday.

"They also violated the law by not allowing us to see him ... not his wife, or myself as his lawyer,” he said, adding that he was detained Saturday afternoon so as to hold him for the weekend.

Sources in the Internal Security Forces confirmed to The Daily Star that Sharee was detained Saturday but said General Security personnel and the ISF "did not violate any law and can detain any one with a search warrant againt them."

According to the sources Sharee had claimed to speak on behalf of the embassy, impersonating an official.

According to Halabi, Sharee used to work in the administrative department of the Syrian embassy but left several months ago and joined Life, a nonprofit organization that helps Syrian refugees with their legal issues such as their legal status in Lebanon.

Sharee joined Life last month and was part of the Syrian Affairs office in Lebanon, set to open next week, along with other defectors including Bashar al-Hajj Ali, a former Syrian attaché to Kuwait.

Halabi also said that Sharee’s detention is a "hostile act” against his organization, holding the Lebanese government fully responsible for the Syrian’s case.