New Development: At Request of Chedid, Judge Khouri Circulates to All Courts Chedid's Letter Making Allegations Against Mugraby
September 23, 2003

On September 3, 2003, the day after Dr. Mugraby held a press conference following his release from detention on August 29th, Mr. Chedid, signing as the president of the Bar Association at Beirut ("BAB"), addressed a letter to Judge Tanious Al Khouri, as "First President of the Higher Judicial Council". In his letter, Chedid advised Khouri that Dr. Mugraby had, purportedly, "been stricken off the list of lawyers and that he was thereby prohibited from practicing law or acting as a lawyer" and requested the judge to "circulate to all courts." Mr. Khouri complied on September 4, 2003, by circulating the letter to the chief judges of all appellate courts in Lebanon adding a note in long hand at the bottom of the letter requesting the judges to circulate the "decision" to all other courts within their respective jurisdiction.

Dr. Mugraby did not find out about the above until September 13th. He then addressed a letter to Mr. Khouri, who is actually the president (not the first president) of the Higher Judicial Council, advising him that Chedid's letter was without legal merit and that he, Mr. Khouri, had no power, in his said capacity, to circulate the letter. Such act would violate the judges' independence and prejudice several pending actions, many of which could end up before the court of cassation headed by Mr. Khouri himself. Hence, Dr. Mugraby asked Mr. Khouri to retract the letter and his note on it forthwith. Furthermore, Dr. Mugraby wrote to the chief judges copying them on his letter to Mr. Khouri and requesting that they retract any similar letters that they may have circulated to lower courts pursuant to Mr. Khouri's letter. Dr. Mugraby also wrote to the Minister of Justice advising him of the developments and requesting the retraction of Mr. Khouri's letter, or else the Lebanese Government will be held responsible.

Chedid had filed criminal charges against Dr. Mugraby requesting his arrest and imprisonment for three years for allegedly impersonating a lawyer. In his complaint on behalf of BAB, the second such criminal action brought by BAB against Dr. Mugraby within the last two years, Chedid affirmed that Dr. Mugraby had "finally" been stricken off the lawyers' list and lost his capacity as a lawyer and could not benefit from any of the provisions of the Code on the Organization of the Legal Profession. Dr. Mugraby was arrested on Friday August 8, 2003, and released three weeks later after Chedid had strongly objected to his release. In several press and TV statements and appearances by Chedid during Dr. Mugraby's detention, Chedid maintained that Dr. Mugraby had to discontinue the practice of law because "he was no longer a lawyer".

In his press conference of September 3, 2003, following his release, Dr. Mugraby stated that he had not discontinued his practice and will not do so unless so duly ordered by a final decision of a duly constituted court of law acting in the name of the people of Lebanon. Dr. Mugraby's law firm is one of the leading law firms of Beirut and specializes in complicated international business transactions and human rights. He has hundreds of clients that he represents in over a hundred lawsuits.