The Lebanese Interior Ministry has denied accusations of torturing to death a detainee, while the Justice Ministry has vowed to investigate the case. The family of the detained Hassan al-Daiqa and the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) confirmed that he had died as a result of torture and because he was denied a request to undergo urgent surgery. Interior Minister Raya al-Hassan said she had ordered an inquiry into the case, while Justice Minister Albert Sarhan pledged to conduct investigations to clarify the circumstances of the detainee’s death, underlining his ministry’s “full commitment to the provisions of anti-torture agreements that guarantee the rights of detainees.” In a statement, Hassan expressed regret over the death of al-Daiqa, who was arrested under a warrant issued in October. “The minister gave instructions to the Director General of the Internal Security Forces, General Imad Othman, that immediate action be taken to open an investigation to determine the causes of death,” the statement added. Hassan also explained that her ministry had sent a detailed report in this regard to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the allegations of torture against the detainee. A statement issued by Lawyer Tawfiq al-Daiqa, the father of the victim, said that his son “was tortured by the Intelligence Gathering Division and was paralyzed in the left leg. He needed surgery in his back but was not allowed hospitalization during his arrest until his condition worsened. He was admitted to hospital on May 2 and died a few days later.” The PSP, for its part, confirmed that al-Daiqa was subjected to torture. “Regardless of the reasons of the arrest and whether the late prisoner is innocent or guilty, the brutal manner in which he was treated during his arrest and the refusal of the competent judicial authorities to provide him with medical care, constitute an unprecedented scandal and all those involved should be held accountable and prosecuted,” the party said in a statement.