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6.4 Firmas electrónicas múltiples
6.4.2 Contrafirmas
(1) Increased sentencing, (2) Harsher penalties
(3) The use of capital punishment (4) The use of indefinite sentences and (5) Intrusive video surveillance
In addition to such characteristics, Monterosso (2009:16) added the “abandonment of procedural safeguards that serve to protect people from the abuse in the legal environment”. This section will examine how Lebanon fits in with these characteristics of punitiveness, and later provides the finding surrounding the Lebanese criminal justice system to further strengthen this standpoint.
6.1.1 Lebanese Policing and Punitiveness
A part of this popular punitiveness climate, is the populist policing and populist security (Jones, 2010). Populist policing includes things such as ‘zero tolerance policing, and visible foot patrols’ while populist security includes “favouring gated communities, ‘anti-‐terror control orders, water boarding and other physical interrogation methods” (Jones, 2010:335). Because physical interrogation methods are considered to be part of the popular punitive climate, Lebanon can be seen to be part of this climate. Both this chapter and Chapter Five touch upon the use of physical methods during interrogations. These methods included the use of torture on detainees. The use of such methods falls under the ‘populist security’ phenomena and therefore result in Lebanon being part of the popular punitive climate.
6.1.2 Lebanese Laws and Punitiveness
In relation to Lebanese laws and sentencing, on the surface, Lebanon’s sentencing (examined in Chapter Three) does not seem to be very punitive in nature except for the laws that criminalise homosexuality. According to numerous prison guard participants:
“Homosexuality is a moral offence, against religion. If they are not in prison they should be
treated, this is not what God designed, it is not nice for society… We are different societies, it [homosexuality] destroys society…” (Prison Guard 9)
“Homosexuality should be a crime, I don't care if in other countries if the government allows it… we don't accept it, no one will accept it, it gets diseases so should be punished so they know it is
wrong…” (Prison Guard 7).
A sign of popular punitiveness is the harshening of laws, when laws are examined within Lebanon there is no argument that claims that sentencing has in fact harshened. One reason why this has not yet occurred is because, laws within Lebanon are out-‐dated and therefore have not been amended. It can therefore be argued that laws are punitive due to the failure to
amend and modernise them leaving criminal justice agents with the ability to criminalise acts which according to international standards are not criminal (i.e. homosexuality).
“These articles were written but they are extremely old, and they have not been developed with
the development of society, international societies and with the development of laws. There are articles that are used that are not even understood well” (Lawyer 1).
In addition to out-‐dated laws, Lebanon still uses capital punishment. This is despite the fact that there is no link between capital punishment and repressing homicide or violent crime (McGuire, 2002). From a total of twenty-‐six prisoner participants, one participant was sentenced to death for attempted rape and murder. It is important to note however, that although Lebanese courts still issue the death sentence, these sentences have not been carried out. The last execution was in 2004 when three people were executed in Roumieh prison, one by hanging and two by firing squad (BBC News, 2004 January 17). In regard to the law and punitiveness, it can therefore be argued that due to the out-‐dated laws, criminalisation of acts based on perceived morality and the use of capital punishment laws are in fact punitive.
6.1.3 Lebanese Courts and Punitiveness
Examining the court process combined with the human rights violations mentioned in Chapters Three and Five, there is an argument towards describing Lebanese courts as punitive in nature. The reason for arguing that Lebanese courts are punitive in nature is due to the lack of rights provided to suspects throughout the various courts. The lack of legal representation, the lack of the use of witnesses and opportunities for suspects to defend themselves are all violations that result in mistrials. In addition to the lack of defence another aspect that results in punitiveness is the focus on confessions. Some of the judges within Lebanon tend to over-‐rely on
confessions, despite the fact that many of these confessions are a result of torture.
“There is no honourable judge in Lebanon, look at my case, they have seen the report, the
statement my wife has made and the police report which they forced me to sign” (Prisoner 10).
“They [the police] wrote in the report that I have had sexual relations with three men and I work
as a prostitute. I accepted all these allegations, because if I don't they will kill me” (Prisoner 25).
As was previously mentioned in Chapters One and Five, the use of torture is a form of
punishment. Therefore, the use of torture to obtain confessions further reinforces the punitive nature of not only the police, but also the judges that rely on the confessions as the main piece of evidence to convict offenders. In general, most prisoners felt like the “Judge’s don't care
about us, they just see our crime not us” (Prisoner 2). This shows that they are punitive in
nature as the whole side of humanity is taken out of the process.
In addition to the punitive nature of the courts and punitive attitudes of judges towards sex offenders, xenophobia was also seen to play a role within the courts. One prisoner claimed, “The judge was xenophobic, he told me, you are Syrian go back to Syria. He spoke to me in a
really bad way, it was all because of my nationality, that is why I was in more trouble…”
(Prisoner 2). This xenophobia towards Syrians is a result of resentment against the Syrian regime’s control over Lebanon after the civil war (Nayel, 2013). A total of six out of twenty-‐six participants within this study were Syrians and felt that the criminal justice was more punitive towards them. For example, Prisoner 24 claimed: “Why am I still in prison when the others have
done worse crimes and are out before us? I’ll tell you why its because we are Syrian, if we were Lebanese accused of prostitution we would already be back home now”.
6.1.4 Lebanese Prisons and Punitiveness
Lebanese prison conditions are extremely bad; all participants within this study highlighted the poor conditions. For example, one judge stated: “Prison conditions are very bad… they are
extremely punitive and there is no rehabilitation. In terms of it being punitive, it is inhumane, many of the Lebanese prisons not all of them are inhumane…” (Judge 6). Prisons are inhumane
in the conditions but also in the fact that they do nothing to help prisoners lead an offence free life once released. This is due to the lack of rehabilitation and support within as well as outside of prisons. The lack of rehabilitation can be due to numerous factors, which includes the lack of faith in its success, the lack of resources and/or a punitive mentality. One police officer
highlighted the punitive mentality when he claimed, “let him [prisoner] be punished and then
after punishment be rehabilitation” (Police Officer 2). It is due to such a mentality that
rehabilitation fails to gain importance within countries such as Lebanon.
Moreover, such beliefs results in Lebanon being part of this current global shift towards punitiveness and a “culture of control where criminal justice system have become more punitive and less oriented towards rehabilitation” (Phelps, 2011:2). Numerous criminal justice
systems (not just Lebanon) rely on eliminative strategies where it is believed that in order to deter crime, criminal acts need to be linked to negative consequences. “In criminal justice decisions this is represented by deterrence-‐based sentences or punitive sanctions” for example, fines, use of custody, surveillance, shock incarceration and/or demanding physical regimes (McGuire, 2002:4). This punitive stance has lead to a decline in rehabilitation and “in place of rehabilitation, deterrence and incapacitation became the explicit goals of prison in political discourse” (Phelps, 2011:2).
6.1.5 Release and Punitiveness
Finally, another indication of Lebanon’s punitive criminal justice system is the lack of support in the community for ex-‐prisoners. This lack of support may be a result of the Lebanese criminal justice system’s focus on punitiveness. It is evident from the narratives of participants that this focus on punitiveness can be seen throughout all the levels of the criminal justice system (i.e. from the point of arrest, to prison and even upon release). Criminal justice agents, it seems, fail to take into consideration what happens after the offenders serve ‘their punishment’ for the crimes as within Lebanon sex offenders are released back into the community with no surveillance or monitoring. It seems like the criminal justice agents are focusing on the punishment of offenders and almost forget what happens afterwards. Judges, lawyers and police officers all claimed that once a sex offender is released he/she is left on their own with no supervision. Judge 3 for example, highlighted this when he claimed once an offender is released:
“then he goes back to his house… we have no organisations following up on prisoners, they only have psychologists if the individuals want to see them… if he is released, he returns to the home
where he can re-‐abuse his children. There is no one out there to help the families nor the offender… we don't know what happens when they are released” (Judge 3).
This focus on punitive measures is not specific to Lebanon and instead, people across the globe are supportive of punitive measures. This is despite official statistics, and studies of the impact of imprisonment, that do not show any unambiguous link between the severity of penalties (e.g. prison versus community sentences) and recidivism outcomes” (McGuire, 2002:5).