"Four of the detainees allege that their interrogators tortured them during their detention at the Ministry of Defense in order to force them to confess, while others say they were being ill-treated and intimidated. Ghassan Slaybi told Human Rights Watch and CLDH that when he first arrived at the Ministry of Defense, armed guards hit him with a thick wooden stick on his back and later tortured him by placing him on an electric chair. He also alleged that his interrogators threatened to harm his wife if he did not cooperate. His son Muhammad, 19, who was arrested at the same time, also alleged that his interrogators hit him on the soles of his feet and suspended him in the extremely painful “balanco” position (hanging by the wrists, which are tied behind the back), in order to extract confessions from him. While the other five detainees did not report being tortured at the Ministry of Defense, they told Human Rights Watch and CLDH that the interrogators frequently punched them during their questioning and that they were fearful during the whole week they spent at the ministry because they were blindfolded and completely disoriented. A number of them said they signed a confession without actually reading it. “The Lebanese judiciary should investigate these serious allegations and hold those responsible accountable,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director of Human Rights Watch. “No verdict based on the confessions offered by these men under these circumstances will have any credibility.”" (thanks Nadim)
PS I think that Human Rights should find out whether they were first tortured by Jihaz Al-Ma`lumat of the Internal Security Forces--which sometimes has a presence at the Ministry of Defense. This apparatus now handles detainees, and often tries to shift blame of torture and human rights violations to other organs of government--not that other organs of government are blameless.