Statement by Dr. Leo Spigt on behalf of the European defense team of Dr. Muhamad Mugraby

Press Conference, Beirut, April 17, 2006

As one of the main European counsels for Dr. Mugraby, I was very pleased to learn that the Military Court of Cassation has taken the decision to end this latest case against him.
Although the grounds are not utterly clear, the outcome is satisfactory. The Military Court of Cassation concludes that there is no case against Dr. Mugraby based on the fact that his behavior was not criminal in the sense of the charges: defamation. Dr. Mugraby merely exercised his right (and may be we should say: also his duty) of freedom of speech as laid down in art. 23 of the UN Basis Principles on the Role of Lawyers 1990 and Article 19 UDHR.

Yet, Dr. Mugraby's difficulties are not over.
There are still other criminal cases pending against him. What happened is that the Beirut Bar, confronted with the same type of criticism as Dr. Mugraby presented in front of the European Parliament - criticism related to the judiciary system, the Military Courts, and the absence of the independence of the Beirut Bar - decided to try to expel him.

While Dr. Mugraby still continued his work, the Bar invited the public prosecutor to charge Dr. Mugraby with the crimes of:
a. defaming the Beirut Bar and its President
b. unlawfully practicing the profession of a lawyer (impersonation of a lawyer)So where are we now?
The Military Court of Cassation decided that Dr. Mugraby did not misbehave.
Is it not strange that his own bar, instead of protecting the freedom of speech and supporting Dr. Mugraby in this, would pursue him even more fanaticly than the military judiciary system did on the ground of defamation?
For European lawyers this is very difficult to understand.
It is the purpose of Dr. Mugraby's defense team to try to end all the remaining harassment of their client.
For this reason we are glad to have not only a protest of the President of the Dutch Bar, related to these facts, but also an outcry of the Council of the Bars and Law Societies of the European Union, representing 700.000 lawyers. This council is charged with an advisory role to the European Commission regarding the legal profession. The council, CCBE, has formally protested against the continued harassment of Dr. Mugraby.

This is even more relevant now that Lebanon is seeking a steady institutional relationship with the EU.
We, as counsels will present Dr. Mugraby's position towards his own bar within the next two weeks once more to the Human Right Committee of CCBE and we are confident that the CCBE and the EU authorities will put even more pressure towards ending all harassment to Dr. Mugraby's free practice of the legal profession.
**For further information: E-mail info@cdrl.org and visit http://www.cdrl.org/.