Letter to Sami Nair Chairman of the Mashreq Delegation of the European Union

August 25, 2003

Dear Mr. Nair,

I am writing to you on behalf of my family, the Mugrabys, upon the recommendation of Emma Bonino.

I understand that as a Member of European Parliament, and Chairman of the Mashreq Delegation, you would be able to help us address some issues.

My father, Dr. Muhamad Mugraby, one of the most prominent lawyers of Lebanon and the region, was arrested for allegedly "impersonating a lawyer" on Friday, August 8th. He was detained in a holding cell at the Palace of Justice until Thursday, August 14th. Since then, he has been a prisoner in Lebanon's Roumieh prison, being denied his most basic civil and human rights, including the presumption of innocence and the right to counsel.

My father, 64, a graduate of the Lebanese University School of Law, the American University of Beirut, and Columbia University School of Law in New York City, holds five degrees and is an internationally renowned lawyer and human rights defender. For years he has applied the law to fight corruption and to defend human dignity. For years he has demanded human rights and democracy, and for years he has upheld the rule of law. His courageous, professional, and daring character has earned him many enemies in our corrupt nation.

Dr. Muhamad Mugraby has now and since his arrest become the target of a character assassination and lynching by Mr. Raymond Chedid and the Beirut Bar Association like nothing we have seen before. We would have anticipated that these parties, who use the motto "Mother of Laws", be the leaders of his defense instead - but it is quite clear that Chedid and the others are being used as tools by the regime. We have been let down by the very association that was created to protect its members, and by the nation as a whole. Dozens of organizations such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the International Commission of Jurists, and the International Bar Association have issued public statements demanding Dr. Mugraby's release, and they have all been ignored. Their statements have been addressed to our president his Excellency Emile Lahoud, to Raymond Chedid, president of the Beirut Bar Association, to Prosecutor General Adnan Addoum, and to Bahij Tabbarra, our Minister of Justice.

I understand that the Republic of Lebanon adheres to a partnership and declaration with Europe in which it has committed itself to introduce democracy and human rights in its political system. These blatant violations of human rights and violations within the judiciary in general are in direct conflict with the agreements that regulate relations between the European Union and Lebanon, with respect to Articles 2 and 59 of these agreements.

A man who has continually stressed the importance of the rule of law, the independence of the judiciary, and the proper practice and procedure of the legal profession, has been imprisoned for his tremendous efforts.

How can this be permitted? And who, if not our courts, will hold the perpetrators accountable?

In a press conference held on August 21st by the Beirut Bar Association, Mr. Chedid openly threatened to prosecute everyone that opposes or criticizes the Bar, claiming supremacy 'auberall'. They also made false claims against my father that can be proven as such.

Not without the support of other authorities, the president of the Beirut Bar Association has clearly demonstrated a strong will to terminate my father's career as a lawyer and human rights defender. It is quite certain that their motives are political in nature, and that this was a political decision made at the highest political level.

Realizing that you must understand the significance and implications of this situation, not only that of my father's detention but also that of the general denial of the rule of law and the total disregard of proper legal procedures by the very institution that serves to uphold them, I ask you how you intend to help re-establish respect for the rule of law and proper procedures in the Republic of Lebanon, given the case at hand as an opportunity to start somewhere practical.

Ms. Bonino has kindly brought to my attention the EC-Lebanon Agreement and the Strategy Document of 2002-2006 for Lebanon.

I have attached some documents (statements made by my father in his own defense) for you to review.

Please refer to www.combar.info for more information, and support us by signing a petition demanding Mugraby's immediate release at www.petitiononline.com/mugraby.

Thank you for your time and understanding.

Respectfully yours,
Suha Mugraby
(Dr. Mugraby's daughter)