“Bitterness of Humiliation”

SNHR issued “Bitterness of Humiliation” report which documented the enslavement of 45 Syrian women in Lebanon by rival and widespread mobs which traded with Syrian women bodies.

The report mentioned that the start point was when the warrant was issued by The Division of Public Relations of the Lebanese Internal Security Forces on 31March 2016 which revealed the volume of sexual violence against Syrian women by enslavement mob which was similar to ISIL practices. Those mobs practiced torture, rape, abortion, deformation, and sexual enslavement then threatened victims to publish their photos and videos and many others sadistic practices. With sole difference between ISIL and this mob that ISIL acknowledged its brutal barbarity and didn’t threaten and expose the victims.

According to report, the SNHR representatives in Lebanon had attempted to communicate with survivors to obtain their real testimonies and document their incident’s details. The report depicted testimonies of four survivors and a journalist’s narration of investigations in the Detachment of Survey in Mount Lebanon. The testimonies were similar regarding the circumstances of female, their detention, torture, sexual violence, and intimidation.

The report stated that not less than 45 Syrian women were exposed to continuous sexual violence including 8 girls “under the age of 18 years old” in two clubs «Chez Mauric» and «Silver» which are owned by Mauic Jaeajea in Al Muamaltain region in Jouynia city which is popular with widespread night clubs during the period from the end of 2013 until March 2016.

The report indicated that the mob members were Lebanese, Palestinians and Syrians. It had targeted two categories of women in an organized and examined way some were Syrian women inside Syria and other were Syrian women refugees in Lebanon, taking the advantage of the difficult circumstances and the decline of UN support. The mobs selected their victims with experience and focus study. They selected the poorest women, who had lost their husband, and who psychologically unhealthy. Then the victims were forced to go to “Chez Maurice and Silver” nightclubs. The victims were detained, threatened and tortured. Then the mobs forced the victims to practice sex with night customers and according to the victims, they were raped many times for several years. While some of these Syrian women had transferred from raped women to guards in exchange for stop raping them and some incentives. SNHR recorded 12 Syrian guards that tortured and humiliated the Syrian women who were detained by that mob.

SNHR chairman Fadel Abdul Ghany said that they had real fear about the fate of the 45 women, they were unable neither returned back to Syria nor stayed in Lebanon, that the enslavement mobs would target them with kidnapping or killing. UNHCR have to hold its responsibility toward this case. And UN high commissioner for human rights has to protect Syrian women refugees and offer psychological and health support and safe housing as possible as they can and the Lebanese state has to protect them.”

The report depicted the legal dimension of trafficking in human beings which distinguished between the perpetrators of the crime, and the victims in article 586 (article 8) deals with the situation of the victims of “The Enslavement Mob of Syrian Women” as they were caring for the work of the punishable act, which means “prostitution”. The article states that: the victim, who proves that he/she was forced to commit punishable acts by law or violated the conditions of residence or work.

The report recommended Lebanese government to ensure the protection and care of survivors of rape and sexual violence, and work with the greatest possible effort to detect links and ramifications of the “The Enslavement Mob of Syrian Women”. It must be hundreds of victims waiting for revealing their fate and release them, they a subjected to enslavement which is so similar to the one already reported. The report emphasized that it must lower the maximum possible sanctions “The Enslavement Mob of Syrian Women” and to freeze all active and highly migratory illegal even licit because it was used as a cover to finance and support illegal activities

The report confirmed that the photos of “enslavement mob of Syrian women” had to puplish in mass media after the end of the investigations and the arrest of the rest of the criminal networks.

SNHR demanded UN High Commissioner for Human Right to document the all cases of the enslavement mobs of Syrian women in Lebanon and to issue report with detailed statement to expose the perpetrators and demand the rights of victims.

It urged UN Commissioner for refugees (UNHCR) to compensate the victims as much as possible psychologically and physically, and give them the priority in all aid and grants.

The report recommended the Security Council to condemn what happened to the Syrian females, and follow-up of the Lebanese government to fulfill its obligations in accordance with its internal law and the international law of human rights. And to load the Syrian regime the responsibility of what happens to Syrian citizens, after long decades of tyranny and plundering the wealth of the country as the documents revealed from the smuggling of 48 billion dollars, then the horrific war launched by all the components of the Syrian society since March 2011 and is still going on up till now.

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