Reports suggest that up to 200 people believed to be supporters of General Michel ‘Aoun have been arrested. At least 10 and possibly as many as 50 of them remain detained; they may be prisoners of conscience. AI fears that they could be ill-treated in incommunicado. The arrests are thought to have taken place shortly after the Independence Day celebrations on 22 November 1992; some of them appear to be related to the printing and distribution of a leaflet calling for Lebanon to become “truly independent”. One of those in detention, Antoine Samieh, is reported to have been hospitalized after torture in detention. About 10 of those detained were reported to have started a hunger-strike in protest against their arbitrary arrest.
