Lebanese government hits back at Amnesty report of abuses

Lebanon's government on Thursday denounced an Amnesty International report tha

t accused Lebanese security forces of serious human rights abuses in post-war Lebanon.

"The report's content is the imagination of some Lebanese who are in contact with this organization, giving it false information that is adopted without checking its accuracy," Interior Minister Michel Murr told reporters.

It was the first official comment on the Amnesty International report on Lebanon released Oct. 9.

In the report, Amnesty accused the Lebanese government of carrying out arbitrary political arrests, torture and abuse of suspects in Lebanon in the name of consolidating state authority.

It cited the arrest of suspects in Lebanon who ended up in jails in neighboring Syria, which has 40,000 troops deployed in this country, ostensibly as peacekeepers.

The London-based group said it was aware of at least 200 Lebanese nationals who were detained in Syria, mostly without charge or trial.

Murr said the prosecutor general will prepare a detailed response along with facts to refute "the slander and accusations made by this organization which should have respected itself more."