Man accused of homosexuality and held in police custody

Ala’a, a non-Lebanese Arab national, was arrested in April 2012 while he was playing cards with two friends in a parked car next to the house of a prominent Lebanese politician. Police accused them of homosexuality, and kept Ala’a in detention for two weeks, moving him from station to station. Ala’a was not allowed to inform his family, who were abroad at the time, and his lawyer was denied access to him twice. After not hearing from him, his parents became worried and traveled to Lebanon, looking for him in hospitals and jails until they found him in General Security.