Mr. Chairman,
Ranking Members,
Members of the Committee,

Thank you, It is truly an honor and a privilege to report to this committee our findings on the Syrian Human Rights in Syria, Lebanon and their policies that affect Lebanon.

My name is Ali Abou Dehn, I am a Lebanese citizen. I was taken prisoner by the Syrian intelligence service during the occupation of my country by this Syrian Regime. I was jailed for 13 years, from 28 December 1987 till 15 December 2000. I was told that the charge was that I opposed the Syrian presence in my country.

Since 2001, I have been involved in a campaign to secure the release of all Lebanese prisoners held in Syria, as a legal representative of the Formal Lebanese Political Detainees in Syria (FLPD). We have been working with the French Human Rights committee NDH, Human Rights Watch, Humanitarian Rights.

I have also been asked to speak at universities around Lebanon, to explain the situation for the remaining political prisoners in Syrian jails who are still incurring to the worst ill-treatment in the worst jails.