The Forensic and Psychological Examination Unit at the Palace of Justice - Tripoli
Restart Center established an innovative mechanism for the prevention of torture in Police custody: the forensic and psychological examination unit in partnership with the Lebanese Ministry of Justice based on a Memorandum of Understanding. It is located at the Palace of Justice in Tripoli, Lebanon and officially inaugurated in July 2017.
The aim behind this unit is to detect and document torture and other forms of ill treatment through independent and routine medical and psychological examinations.
The target of this unit are the detainees referred to the courthouse at the palace of justice to appear before the judge. Those detainees come from different police stations in the North district after the first period of arrest.
This system of early screening is able to identify the physical and psychological symptoms that may indicate torture and ill-treatment. Where this screening detects such symptoms, immediate full forensic and psychological evaluation, in accordance with the Istanbul Protocol and with the written consent of the person of concern, is offered to the detainee. The evaluations conducted at the forensic unit take place in a setting free of any official surveillance or pressure and with total confidentiality.
In addition, those evaluations might detect health problems and any case of real concern will be immediately reported to the ISF.
The unit is managed by Restart Center and personnel are directly recruited and affiliated to the center. The multidisciplinary team is formed of independent expert, including: forensic doctors, psychotherapists, clinical psychologists, lawyers, social workers, and laboratory technicians, who are provided with the adequate training.
The Unit is equipped with a mobile x-ray machinery and photographic documentation of injuries with the additional capacity of blood and urine testing in collaboration with identified hospital in the region.
The Unit compiles data of different types including but not limited to: a mapping of police stations that practice torture through testimonies of detainees and the type and frequency of torture and/or cruel inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
