CANADIAN LEBANESE HUMAN RIGHTS FEDERATION (CLHRF)
Fax & Phone # (905) 272-9389
Web Site http://www.clhrf.com
30/6/2003

A New Syrian Crime
The CLHRF strongly denounced Syria's new  savage crime in regards to the sudden death of Mr. Joseph Emile Hwaith, on 19/6/03 while in Syrian arbitrary detention.

Mr. Hwaith was kidnapped from Lebanon to Syria in 1992 after his involvement in a car accident with a Syrian Army vehicle. Since then he was kept in arbitrary detention deprived of all his judicial and human rights. Despite the fact that he was complaining of  Major epilepsy (Grand mal), the Syrian authorities refused to secure his release, or even provide him with the required medical care. For the last few years, the Syrian merciless authorities have even denied his presence in its jails and deprived his family all visitation privileges.

Meanwhile the Lebanese Syrian installed puppet regime declared Mr. Hwaith dead, with hundreds of other arbitrary detainees in Syria, (as well as 18000 Lebanese citizens kidnapped, missing and detainees) in a decree it issued on 25/7/2000.

The CLHRF calls on all Lebanese living in Diaspora to adopt the just cause of the Lebanese detained arbitrary in the Syrian Stalinist detention centers. It calls on them to contact Politicians, officials, clergymen, media facilities and human rights advocates all over the world and make them aware of the on going tragedy of these unfortunate detainees.

The CLHRF holds Lebanon's pro Syrian politicians, officials, parties, citizens and clergymen full responsible for the death of Mr. Hwaith. They are partners in this crime and in all similar crimes because they willingly agreed to be mere tools manipulated by the Syrian Baathist regime to oppress, torture, persecute and murder their own free people.

Spokesman for the CLHRF
Elias Bejjani