Abu Dhabi: The General Directorate of the Internal Security Forces in Lebanon said it had arrested a suspect in the rape of a 13-year-old Syrian child in Western Bekaa, Lebanese media reported.
The Lebanese Security Forces revealed the involvement of eight young men in the incident after initial information indicated that the number was three.
The crime occurred two years ago, but the emergence of a newly released video documenting the “psychological and physical suffering” of the child, brought the case back to the fore.
The child was unable to reveal the truth about what happened to him because of threats he faced from the rapists, but a dispute occurred between them, causing one of them to publish the video.
The video, which documents the incident of sexual harassment and rape, has become a public opinion issue on social media. The users launched the Syrian child justice hashtag, which was among the most prevalent in a number of Arab countries. The video showed three young men kidnapping the boy and beating him, before forcing him to engage in sexual acts with them, with rumours also accusing the trio of raping the child.
One of the men was identified on social media and was forced to deactivate his Facebook account after his profile was circulated, with reports confirming a number of threats made against him.
Twitter users demanded the most severe punishment for the three young men, with some even suggesting the death penalty on them.
