Dr. Mugraby
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Two policemen came to the 64-year-old lawyer's office in Beirut on August 7, and instructed him to report to the public prosecutor. When he arrived at the prosecutor's office on the morning of August 8, he was questioned for approximately four hours on charges of "impersonating a lawyer," according to information that Human Rights Watch has received. Under the law governing the legal profession in Lebanon, impersonating the identity of a lawyer is a criminal offense that carries a term of six months to three years in prison, lawyers told Human Rights Watch.
Dr. Mugraby was then permitted to give his belt, mobile phone, wedding ring and other possessions to his wife Dalal before being taken into custody. As of this writing, he is believed to be held in a prison inside either the Ministry of Justice or the Palace of Justice, two buildings that are adjacent to one another.
"Lebanese authorities have harassed Dr. Mugraby for years, but his arrest today
is simply outrageous," said Virginia Sherry, associate director of the Middle East and North Africa division of Human Rights Watch. "He has steadfastly refused to remain silent about Syria's repressive role in Lebanon and about corruption within the judiciary. This courageous man must be released immediately."
The Beirut Bar Association has repeatedly attempted to prevent Dr. Mugraby from practicing as a lawyer in Lebanon. On April 4, 2002, one of the bar's disciplinary committees ruled that he should be barred from practicing law. Dr. Mugraby appealed this decision, but no action was taken on the appeal and it was never heard. On January 17, 2003, after a second disciplinary committee took a decision to disbar him, Dr. Mugraby once again lodged an appeal on March 14, 2003, which also was never heard. Decisions of the bar's disciplinary committees are not final until the appeals process is completed, Kamal el-Batal, an official with the Campaign for Integrity in the Judiciary, a Lebanese nongovernmental organization, told Human Rights Watch.
Following the decisions of the two disciplinary committees, Dr. Mugraby continued to practice as a lawyer, since his appeals were never heard. According to information that Human Rights Watch has received, he paid his annual bar association dues, which were accepted, and he continued to register his power of attorney at the bar, which was also accepted.
Human Rights Watch honored Dr. Muhamed Mugraby as a human rights defender in 1997.
Dr. Mugraby holds degrees from the Lebanese University School of Law and Columbia University Law School in New York. He was an International Law Fellow at Columbia from 1963-1965 and then earned two masters degrees and a doctorate. He is a member of the International Bar Association and the International Association of Lawyers.
