The Permanent Military Court (PMC) convened for the last time on Friday June 9 to look into charges against members of the South Lebanon Army (SLA). The court shall convene again this morning after skipping Monday and Wednesday sessions which were adjourned in mourning of Syria's President Hafiz Assad.
The comments of the FHHRL on June 9 session found their way to the Arabic and French press of Beirut and were out the following morning. We felt a more detailed account could wait till today as the Foundation is not hard pressed by sessions in the interval.
On The Negative Scale While the improvements on the first PMC's session are still carried out, no further improvements were implemented. The FHHRL observed that the lawyers are losing their zeal and their defense is turning more formalistic than serious. Furthermore in the afternoon of the third day of trial only two lawyers appeared before the bench. Inquiring into this serious deficiency, the FHHRL pieced together the following reasons:
1- The bulk of the defense lawyers are trainees who are interested more in registering at the court than conducting a serious defense. The Bar Association Regulations require attending a number of sessions for the final registration on the Bar list.
2- The build up of hatred against the SLA members and the threat of "popular justice" by Hizbullah leaders seem to have went beyond the targeted group and affected their lawyers. Not only the lawyers who belong to the Shi'ite community failed to appear before the bench, but lawyers, secular or of other religious affiliation, find it wiser not to get implicated when the risk is high and material and moral rewards are, at best, minimal.
Unless this trend is stemmed, chances are high that the court very shortly shall be confronted with the short supply of lawyers and shall apply the only option left; resort to purely formal defense by a handful of lawyers processing over 2000 files.
4- Despite the bold assertion by the Government Commissioner before the Military Court that the magistrates shall not allow pressure to influence their convictions, the imprisonment terms were on the whole more, in one case far more, than the average meted by the court in the earlier two sessions. This switch might not be unrelated to the build up of hatred and insinuations.
5- The total number of those charged with collaborating with the enemy is mounting. No official figure is ut yet while the general estimate put the number around 2000 defendants, a list of the names of those held in three army barracks contains 1971 persons. The list is not exhaustive as no mention is made to those in the Central Prison and possibly other barracks. It is therefore safe to assume that the total number of those charged with collaboration exceed 2300 persons.
6- A good percentage of the defendants, half their total number according to one lawyer, were limping. Torture could not be ruled out. But as the prisoners were captured by the militias of Hizbullah and Amal and were kept for days before they were handed over to the authorities, chances are not slim that mistreatment go back to the earlier phase of detention.
7- The degrading way of ushering the defendants before the hearing magistrates did not change.
8- The court clerk did not write down the defense of the lawyers. All what was recorded is their pleadings.
9- The lawyers are still complaining that the documents are communicated to them on the eve of the court session and they are not accorded private audience with the defendants. An adequate time and reviewing the charges with the defendants are basics for serious defense.
On The Positive Scale
1- The more humane seating order is kept. Defendants were placed on the benches in the court hall rather than jamming them in the box.
2- The court accorded the lawyers who demanded it, an adequate delay of two weeks to prepare the defense. 34 cases were thus adjourned while 39 were sentenced on the spot.
For The Record
The following sentences were passed on the third PMC session of June 9, 2000 and in this order:
1-Mahmoud Ahmad Shantaf (one month term and a fine of 1 million Lebanese Liras).
2-Ibrahim Abdel Masih Iskandar (a fine of 250,000 L.L.)
3-Samar Hussein Hamza -Female- (2-year term and 2 million L.L – in absentia)
4-Salman Kanj Zayneddin (one month term and a fine of 2 million L.L)
5-Bassam Jawdat al Halabi (3- month term and a fine of 2 million L.L.)
6-Fadia Said Abi Rashid -Female- (2-year term and 1 million L.L.)
7-Huda Salman Sa'sou'-Female- (2 -year term and 1 million L.L.)
8- Fadia Ali Izziddin -Female- (4- year term and 2 million L.L.)
9-Hiyam Eliya Saad -Female- (4-year term and 2 million L.L.)
10-Leila Yousef Abi Tayy -Female- (4-year term and 2 million L.L.)
11-Hind Toufic Wazir-(4-year term and 2 million L.L.)
12-Kasim Muhammad Kan'an (15- year term and 15 year restraint)
13-Salman Khaza'i Barad'i (one year term and 400,000 L.L. also two year-restraint)
14-Faris Isma'il at Tayr (one year term, 400,000 L.L and two year-restraint)
15-Daliel Atif Madi (one year term, 400,000 L.L. and two-year restraint.)
16- Bassam Nayef Abou Samsam (one year term , 400,000 L.L. and two-year restraint)
17-Abdallah Najib Yousef Shuayb (one year term, 400,000 L.L and two year restraint)
18-Tahir Naaman Munzir (one year term, 400,000 L.L. and two year restraint)
19-Yahya Shdid Yousef Munzir (one year term, 400,000 L.L. and two –year restraint)
20-Hussam Mahmoud Milli (one year term , 400,000L.L. and two-year restraint)
21-Anwar Muhammad Ward(18-month term, 400,000 L.L. and three –year restraint)
22-Zayd Salim Shoufi (two-year term and 400,000 L.L.)
23-Kamal Muhammad Shibli (two-year term and 400,000 L.L.)
24- Mourice Emile Nuhra (18-month term and 400,000 L.L.)
25-Basim Muhammad Zahra (one year and 400,000 L.L.)
26-Ghadir Qasim Muhammad Ghadir (one year and 400,000 L.L.)
27-Harb Adnan Muhammad Shdid (one year and 400,000 L.L.)
28-Imad Faris Daher (3 years plus 3- year-restraint)
29-Samih Kanj Mahmoud al Qays (one year and three year-restraint)
30-Habib Ahmad Maa'az (one year, 400,000L.L. and 2 year -restraint)
31-Nayif Muhammad Ali Mousa (one year, 400,000L.L. and 2 year -restraint)
32-George Hanna Hasbani(six months and 500,000L.L.)
33-Raouf Hussein Zayniddin ((2 years,400,000 L.L. and 4 year- restraint)
34-Fadi Mirshid Daher (3 years, 5 million L.L. and 6 year- restraint)
35-Adib Bahjat Farhat (one year and three year- restraint)
36-Mahdi Muhammad Kan;an (ten years, 400,000 L.L. and 15 year- restraint)
37-Ali Suleiman Fayyad (7 years and 15 year-restraint)
38-Muhammad Mubarak Mubarak (7 years and 15 year-restraint)
39-Aoudat Khattar Abou Ali (one month and one million L.L.)
End of FHHRL's Report # 7