Open Letter to the Free
August 27, 2003

According to Book I, Chapter I of The Institutes, 535 CE (from the Justinian Code), "the maxims of law are these: to live honestly, to hurt no one, to give everyone his due". Jurists in the Beirut Law School, the first law school in history, drafted this code in the fifth century AD. If only they could see us now…

As a human being, I am at liberty, like every other Lebanese, to exercise my right to freedom of expression, without interference and through any media, as set out by Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which, incidentally, was largely shaped by a Lebanese man by the name of Charles Malik, and which, incidentally, is constitutionally and legally binding on Lebanon.

There exists a man who has steadfastly dedicated his life to upholding the rule of law and to defending the natural, God-given, and civil rights of both citizens of this nation and human beings of this world in homage to his distinguished cultural heritage, a heritage that gave birth to Law and to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and a heritage that he loves and cherishes with all his might. Who is this man? His name is Dr. Muhamad Mugraby - internationally renowned lawyer, freedom fighter, and incidentally, my father. Where is he now? In Lebanon's high security prison of Roumieh. Why is he in there? Beats me.

I would like to ask the following question of all the men and women who publicly profess to respect freedom and the law: can anyone of you honestly and publicly state why my father is still in prison, 20 days after his unlawful arrest? Or why any innocent man is in prison for that matter? And why those who attempt to bring this issue out into the open keep getting silenced by force?

More and more each day I am beginning to discover that too many people in this country wouldn't know a good and honest man if he bit them in the belly.

I understand that amidst all the oppression and injustice that abounds in the world today, it is terribly difficult to believe that there are still a few good men out there who are genuinely honest, incorruptible, unafraid, loyal to their nation and to the good people of their nation, faithful to the higher principles of human rights and dignity, and above all outspokenly brave. In a country where countless men derive their own self-worth from the size of their generators, it is even harder to believe. Lebanon's state of affairs and the resulting epidemic of hopelessness and mistrust, though slightly justified, sadden me.

I have some good news for everyone, however: Muhamad Mugraby is the real thing, and that is the truth. For obvious reasons, many Lebanese have become disheartened and helpless, hopeless and faithless. Regrettably, too many Lebanese seem unaware that they are in the process of being reduced to Pavlovian laboratory animals by those whose actual duty is to nurture, secure, and protect their people - if not for anything - then for the sake of this nation's advancement in an increasingly competitive world. In a country that measures roughly 10,450 sq km with a population nearing some four million, the influence of the oppressors has been totally overestimated while that of the strong, freedom-loving people of Lebanon has been miserably underestimated. The rights of all Lebanese can be returned just as easily as they have been taken away. Difficult as it is to internalize, might is not right, but quite the reverse - and I trust that we all firmly believe this deep in our souls. Those who have lost faith in the liberty that truth renders may easily recover it if only they would try. I, like my father, firmly believe that things can change for the better, and that without change, there is stagnation, and with stagnation, there is no life, and with no life, there is clearly no future.

Those who are not willing or able to change, progress, or honor their commitments to other nations, have no business ruling a nation. Those who cannot abide by the Law, which is the core of any society, have absolutely no place in the judiciary. Our society is troubled at the core. It is senseless and counterproductive, however, to continue living in fear. Yes, hundreds of failed attempts later, the enemies of truth may have succeeded in temporarily silencing my father by imprisoning him and holding the keys to his chamber, albeit unlawfully, but they know in their hearts that they cannot hold anything else against him, and they cannot keep silencing the rest of us for much longer.

Amidst all this Bar Association chatter that many believe should be left to the judiciary (by the way, is the judiciary still out to lunch?), Dr. Muhammad Mugraby's arbitrary and illegal arrest is not simply a legal matter that does not involve the general public. This concerns every single human being at every single level. The daily frustrations that we are all subjected to are a direct result of the corruption and lack of integrity in the Lebanese regime at large, including its judicial branch, a system that Dr. Muhamad Mugraby has courageously fought to remedy. You need not be a lawyer or judge to care about this. I stand by him to affirm his aims and more. I am beginning to wonder: who has outstayed their welcome? Is it we, the people, or is it the regime?

In spite of the fact that my father's arrest was arbitrary and therefore criminal, I have not lost my faith in the law or in the millions who are capable of abiding by it. I am profoundly honored, privileged, and proud to be my father's daughter. Those who cannot or will not take a stand against the corruption of the regime that purports to rule our nation ought to question their values, and the values that they are instilling in their children by not pondering the quality of their future. A healthy society needs more than a couple of garbage trucks and some traffic lights to thrive. We need more men like Dr. Muhamad Mugraby who are willing to go out of their way for others in seeking out what is right.

To the point of numbness, we all know that in our country, everything from a university degree to a high-ranking position of authority can be bought or sold with little or no questions asked, and that both silence and lies can also be bought, sold, or forced. How dare a man attempt to disgrace another man and attempt to deny his integrity, loyalty, and honesty. And how dare anybody publicly assert that a man is not the man that the whole world knows he is. It shames me as a Lebanese that our elected members of parliament have not united to proactively condemn this outright injustice against one of the most prominent lawyers in Lebanon and in the region.

Dr. Muhamad Mugraby is guilty of one thing and one thing only: he is guilty of telling the truth. If that is a crime, then it is most honorable.

For the love of God, there are people in this country who need Dr. Mugraby's assistance as I write this letter. His imprisonment makes it impossible for them to have any defense.

I pray that the Lebanese people will soon take courage and demonstrate their will to resist the tyranny and abuse that has paralyzed the nation, however which way they can.

Suha Muhamad Mugraby