FOUNDATION FOR HUMAN AND HUMANITARIAN RIGHTS LEBANON (FHHRL)
In 8 short hours between 10:45 and 19:00 the Permanent Military Court in the Lebanese capital passed sentences on 76 former member of South Lebanon Army (SLA) charged of collaborating with Israel. The setting was very much like that of "Revolutionary Justice". The defendants were dubbed 'collaborators" by the media and the leaders of Hizbullah, particularly Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah who warned against lenient sentences meted by the military court. "No force can protect the agents from the wrath of the masses." he said.
While Army trucks were delivering load after load of defendants into the military court building, Hizbullah was parading booty it captured from the Israeli forces; two tanks and few trucks and a jeep were touring Lebanon from the southern end to the northern port city of tripoli with Shi'ite mullahs, in the tradition of the Iranian revolution two decades ago, on board.
Fortunately. just one detail made the trial untypical of "Revolutionary Justice." The court, despite the summary procedures, found the defendants guilty but meted prison sentences ranging between 3 months and three years. The unanimous impression is that the punishment is lenient and many deemed the court ruling just.
The Foundation for Human and Humanitarian Rights (Lebanon) followed very closely the first day of trying the members of the SLA. A colleague was inside the court room. Others were collecting background information.
Those interviewed included the chairman of the Beirut Bar Association, a member of the legal aid committee of the Beirut Bar Association. The attorney of one of the defendants, a chaplain who has accessibility to the detention centers and prisons and two reporters who covered the trial.The FHHRL came up with the following observations:
1-There is no way to verify how many were captured and whether they all were delivered to the military authorities. Apart from those who surrendered directly to the Lebanese Army, the rest, probably making the majority, were arrested by the militia members who roamed the region liberated from Israel but denied to the Lebanese Army.. There are no guarantees, given the sanguine declarations of Hizbullah leaders, that all were delivered to the Lebanese authorities. 2- A well informed source (name withheld) disclosed to the FHHRL that many of the detainees had bruises when they were brought in the Roumieh Prison. The prisoners were in no position to tell where they were interrogated, by whom and for how long, as they had their eyes folded from their detention by the armed militias down to handing them over to the Lebanese officials. One stated that he had his hands cuffed behind his back and was forced to lie with his head down for some 24 hours.
3- While it is understood that there is no possibility to provide proper accommodation to a crowd ranging between 1500-1700, (media differ on the exact number) fact remains that the the prisoners in the pre trial period, and most probably the post trial one as well, were placed in conditions where their basic needs were lacking. Prisons in Lebanon, even before the recent tremendous increase, are over flowing and are poor in providing adequate living conditions for its original population. A case in point is the central prison of Roumieh which holds over 4000 residents while it is designed for half that number. Other prisons are even more crowded and, as they are not originally designed as detention centers, are notorious for their sanitary, space per prisoner, and the poor living conditions at large.
4- The Military Court applies summary procedures. The instructions of late was to cut them even shorter as the minister of justice declared earlier last week. Granted that protracted trials which drag for years is a form of obstruction of justice. Yet the opposite might obstruct justice just as much. The chairman of Beirut's Bar Association as well as all those interviewed are of the same mind; it is not right to go over such complicated matters at such a speed. The chairman of the Bar told the FHHRL that he pointed out this defect to the President of the Military Court, General Maher Safiyiddin. The chairman is hopeful that the following court sessions shall be more in conformity with the standards. Many lawyers complained that they had no time to prepare the defense; the files were communicated to them on Friday and the trial was set for Monday morning. They all met their clients for the first time in the court room. "How could it be possible to go over the file, review the charges with the defendant, prepare the defense, draw a list of witnesses in case of need, cross examine the witnesses of the prosecution and call in our witnesses in such a short time?" a lawyer asked.
5- The defendants were tried in groups. Just two of the seven lawyers attempted any thing close to a defense. One for some seven minutes and the other for less than two minutes. The rest of the lawyers settled for demanding mercy for their clients without any attempt at defending them.
6- One defendant claimed that he was subjected to torture. The court ignored his claim and did not find it worthy of noting it down in the court proceedings.
7- The sentences seem to follow a pre-set pattern:
- Three months for entering the territory of the enemy.
- Joining the ranks of the SLA received between 12 and 18 months., and- Three years for passing information to the enemy.
8- On the positive side is the general attitude of the bench, more particularly the president of the court General Safiyiddin. The general atmosphere of the trial was relaxed and the defendants were spared scorn , insults and disrespect.
For The Record the following is the list of those who were tried on June 5, 2000.
1- Nimr Taha 2-
Kamil Ibrahim.3- Raouf Rammal 4- Ali Qazan.5- Samir Btiddini.6- Muhsin Shucair.7- Ali
Ayyoub.8- Khalil Khanafir.9-Abdel Hakim Samhat.10-Ali Haydar.11-Bassam
Nasrallah.12-Hussein Bou Ta'am.13-Usama Rizk.14-Ali Bou Ta'am.15-Ali Akil 16-Tariq Jahir.
17-Hussein Farah. 18 Ali Haydar. 19-Muhammad Youssef. 20-Abbas Alyan. 21-Muhammad Awada.
22-Mousa Baddah. 23-Mashhour Hanna.24-Ali Qurbani (minor) 25- Ghalib Barakat. 26-Abbas
Abbas 27-Hassan Karim 28-Hussein Hashim. 29-Mousa Abboud. 30-Mar'i Ali. 31-Yahya al
Hamoush. 32-Hasan Bou Ta'am. 33-Mahmoud Ya'koub. 34-Muhammad Yahya. 35 Rida Qaddouh.
36-Muhammad Shour. 37-Ali Towbah. 38-Muhammad Souli.39-Ihsan Bou Ta'am. 40-Abdallah
Alyan. 41-Muhsen Issa. 42-Hassan Abdallah. 43-Abbas Akil. 44-Muhammad Asmar. 45-Hussein
Faqih. 46-Rabi' Zaghir. 47-Haydar Akil 48-Karim Swied. 49-Diab Issa. 50-Muhammad Qusan
51-Muhammad Darwish 52-Hamza Deeb 53-Mussein Faqih 54-Maroun Abboud 55-Subhi Faqih.
56-Sirhan Hammoud. 57-Ahmad Yousef 58-Muhammad Zreik 59-Ali Nasrallah. 60-Ahmad Faqih.
61-Abbas Hussein. 62-Nader Sleem. 63-Hilah Hassan. 64-Tahseen Hamad. 65-Khalil Hassan.
66-Khodr Tabbaja. 67-Hassan Qteish. 68-Haseeb Qashmar. 69-Hussein Droubi. 70-Burhan
Sirhan.. 71-Ahmad Fou'ani. 72-Ali Barakat. 73-Nimr Hamdan. 74-Kamil Naser.
End of Report # 5
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