Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders Annual Report 2003 - Lebanon

Freedom of association⁴⁰

Freedom of association in Lebanon was instituted by law on 3rd August 1909, and that of 9th October 1962. It states that associations may be set up freely, a member of the association has to register the statutes and names of the association's officers with the Ministry of Interior and receives a receipt in return. Foreign associations may be set up, providing that there is reciprocal legislation in the country of origin of the foreign nationals involved.

Nevertheless, the practice of the Ministry of Interior has removed the concept of freedom from this law by refusing to provide a receipt for registration of the appropriate form Ilm wa Khabar. Moreover, it tries to impose on associations some unexpected obligations such as the adoption of standard statutes which require that the Ministry of Interior be informed of the date and place of general assemblies, or to submit renewals of its governing bodies or amendments to statutes to the Ministry for authorisation. This practice is contrary to the spirit of the law in force.

In order to get round this practice, some associations have chosen to register their statutes and names of their officers with a lawyer and to have this fact recorded by a bailiff who then notifies the Ministry of the Interior. Associations have also submitted an appeal to the Supreme Court. In a decision handed down on 11th December 2003, this latter contradicts the interpretation of the Ministry of the Interior: "It follows on from the very principle of freedom that associations may be set up freely and may be made public knowledge on the basis of a simple statement". Accordingly "setting up associations when they appear to be tainted with being annulled or having illicit aims, cannot be subject to the administrative authorities or even judicial authorities for verification of their validity".

As a corollary to this decree of the Supreme Court, the Ministry of Interior has to stop this practice and provide a receipt to associations submitting declarations to it, without trying to impose on them any statute of its choice nor having them submitting renewal of their officers or statutes for it's an a priori authorisation, these changes being simply declared by the associations and are confirmed by the Ministry issuing a receipt. The principles must be enforced, inlcuding with regard to human rights associations.

Arrest and legal proceedings against Mohamed Mughraby⁴¹

On 8th August 2003, Mr. Muhamad Mugraby, barrister at the Bar of Beyrouth and human rights activist, in particular renowned for his commitment to fighting corruption in Lebanese legal circles, was arrested and taken to the central bureau of criminal enquiries of the Ministry of Justice.

The Director of Public Prosecutions order Mr. Mugraby's arrest following a complaint lodged by the Bar of Beyrouth, accusing him of having made illegal use of his title of barrister. According to Lebanese law, this crime is liable for sentence of 6 months to 3 years imprisonment. The Bar accused Mr. Mugraby of continuing to practise law whereas two disciplinary commissions had withdrawn this right on 4th April 2002 and on 17th January 2003, following proceedings aginst him for "defamation of judicial power". These decisions however were not enforceable, as Mr. Mugraby had appealed against them and that appeal was still under way.

On 29th August, Mr. Mugraby was released but he is still pursued for "defamation of judicial power" and has been debarred. Furthermore, his two defence lawyers, Mr. Muhamed Mahmoud Fakih and Mr. Jihad Abu-Nader, members of the Bar of Beyrouth, have also been suspended for two months for having defended Mr. Mugraby. The Bar interprets article 94 of the Code for the organisation of the profession of barrister, which required that barristers obtain permission before undertaking legal proceedings against another barrister, as well as forbidding a barrister from initiating proceedings against the Bar without having obtained prior authorisation to do so. These lawyers are questioning the functioning of the Bar and in particular the legality of its rules of procedure.

Interrogation of Samira Trad⁴²

Mrs. Samira Trad, Head of the Frontiers Center, a NGO for the defence of non-Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, received a summon on 10th September 2003 from the General Security – General Directorate of Beyrouth, following her return from Europe on 4th September, where she had paid a visit to meet with international NGOs for the defence of human rights, and aid donors. In the afternoon, the staff of the organisation learned that she had been arrested.

She was released on 11th September and was cautioned that she could be pursued at any time for participating in an illegal organisation and for having damaged the reputation of Lebanon abroad.

Thereafter, on several occasions throughout October, the office of public prosecutions of Beyrouth and an officer from General Security, requested Mrs. Samira Trad to present herself at the offices of General Security although there was no official summons. This harassment was to convince her to stop her work at the Frontiers Center in the context of illegal pressure designed to ban the work of associations dealing with refugees and asylum-seekers.

On 23rd December a representative of the Observatory met the Director General of General Security, M. Jamil Al Sayyed, following his decision to forbid Mrs. Samira Trad and Mr. Nizar Saghieh, legal counsel for Frontiers Center, from exercising any rights vis-à-vis General Security. The Director General confirmed this ban, but assured him that, contrary to her fears, Mrs. Samira Trad was entirely free to travel abroad.

Refusal to register the PHRO⁴³

Palestinian Human Rights Organisation (PHRO) which was set up on 29th November 1997 and which defends the rights of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, submitted a request for registration with the Ministry of Interior in January 2001 using the form Ilm wa Khabar foreseen for this purpose. In principle, foreigners may set up associations in Lebanon, provided there is reciprocity; however, in the absence of a Palestinian State, freedom of association of Palestinians is hindered. In the case of the PHRO, the declaration concerns a Lebanese association since this organisation is based in Lebanon and all the directors whose names appear on the declaration of or Lebanese nationality.

By the end of December 2003, the PHRO has still not received official acknowledgement of receipt or a registration number enabling it to appear on the register of associations and to carry out its activities legally. Despite repeated requests for an interview with the Ministry of the Interior, particularly in January and May 2002, the association did not receive any reply. This situation constitutes a serious obstacle to the organisation's action and it is facing financing problems in addition to the risk of having its name usurped.

[Refworld note: This report as posted on the FIDH website (www.fidh.org) was in pdf format with country chapters run together by region. Footnote numbers have been retained here, so do not necessarily begin at 1.]

40. See Preliminary conclusions of the report of the international enquiry mission of the Observatory, 25th – 31st December 2003.

41. Idem and Urgent Appeal LBN 001/0005/OBS 33.01.

42. Idem and Press Release of 10th September 2003.

43. Idem.