Beirut, March 2, 2005: Dr. Muhamad Mugraby issued the following
statement with respect to his recent detention and release in Beirut on
February 26, 2005:
The decision to arrest me was made on Thursday, February 24, 2005,
based on charges arising from my testimony before the Mashrek Committee of
the European Parliament in Brussels on November 4, 2003, by invitation
from the said committee. At that time, the chief public prosecutor took
action to have me arrested and charged, but backed down and closed the
file in the face of very strong protests by the European Commission and
members of the European Parliament. On February 24, 2005, a new file was
opened and the same charges were made with respect to the same testimony.
My interrogation was conducted by a major in the police, who made a
large number of strange allegations that can not be reconciled with any
investigation under the Lebanese penal code. For example the major charged
that certain EU Members of Parliament are sympathetic to Israel. He futher
charged that I was also calling for freedom and democracy in the Arab
countries. A large part of the questioning centered on the role of the
military courts in Beirut and their composition of military officers with
no legal training. I had no intention to cooperate in such an illegal
process or to engage the police in any intellectual debate of the issues
carefully outlined in my EU testimony, and I repeatedly so told the
interrogator. I refused to answer any of his questions on the grounds that
he had no right to ask them and that his questions violated my civil and
human rights.
The police major was frequently leaving the interrogation room for
outside instructions. It appeared there were conflicting pressures going
on, for and against my detention. It also appeared that I was later
released because of the prompt and strong display of support by the human
rights NGOs in Lebanon and other organizations of the Lebanese civil
society including the Association of Lawyers. I take this opportunity to
thank them all.
It is well known that I have been targeted by the regime in Lebanon
throughout the last ten years in nearly a dozen criminal prosecutions.
Hence my arrest and release is part and parcel of the unfolding
developments in Lebanon and the entire region. It is clear that the regime
is imploding faster than anyone had projected before. This could well
induce the imploding of the Syrian regime as well. The emergence of
successor regimes which are substantially similar to the imploded ones is
unacceptable and should not be tolerated. For regime change should not be
regarded as a goal in itself but an opportunity for the establishment of
free democratic governments based on the rule of law and the upholding of
human and civil rights. This would require, as a necessary precondition,
the building of a system of justice characterized by professional
competence, independence, and integrity. It will also require the
structuring of a modern elections system based on the principle of o! ne
man-one vote and strict limitation on spending.
Lebanon cannot sustain the pressures arising from becoming the only
true democracy in the Arab world, i.e. within an environment of tyranny,
unless it becomes a showcase of true democratic transformation for the
Region, with the full and unreserved support of the international
community.
End of Statement.
Dr. Muhamad Mugraby is a lawyer and human rights defender. He is the
president of the Center for Democracy and the Rule of Law ("CDRL"), MIRSAD,
Campaign for Judicial Integrity ("CJI") and Liberty House, all in Beirut,
Lebanon.
For the text of Dr. Mugraby's opening statement in his testimony before
the Mashrek Committee of the European parliament please go to the
following URL:
http://www.combar.info/news/11042003.asp.
For Dr. Mugraby's short biography, please go to the following URL:
http://www.combar.info/docs/bio.asp
This press release and background information is available online at
http://www.cdrl.org/
