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This morning, Friday May 12, 2000, at 10:00 AM, Dr. Muhamad Mugraby appeared, accompanied by his attorney Mr. Salim Azar, before Investigating Magistrate Mr. Sakr Sakr at the palace of justice, Beirut. Mr. Sakr is investigating the complaint of the Higher Judiciary Council pursuant to which charges were brought by the public prosecutor of Beirut. Mr. Nabil Toubia, representing the president of the Beirut bar Association, also appeared. A large number of lawyers and other supporters of Dr. Mugraby assembled in the hall before the magistrate’s office, including representatives of international human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, in addition to Lebanese human rights NGOs.
The Investigating Magistrate recited the following charges brought against Dr. Mugraby:
"In Beirut and on 26, 27/4/2000, and within the period of the witnessed crime, he committed the crimes of libel, defamation and dishonoring of the judicial branch of government represented by the Higher Judicial Council by means of a telegram fax addressed on 15:00 hours to the National Press Agency and by means of a statement circulated to newspapers including the newspaper As-Shark which published it on 27/4/2000. Said crimes are punishable under Articles 383, 386, 388 of the Penal Code referenced to Article 209 of the same code, Articles 21 and 22 of the press law and Article 79 of the Code on the Legal Profession."
Dr. Mugraby asked for a copy of the charges. The judge refused to provide one but agreed to dictate the language to him and he took it in long hand.
Mr. Salim Azar submitted a memorandum of exceptions. He stated that the alleged crime falls only under Article 387 of the Penal Code, which states:
"With the exception of libel directed at the head of state a defendant shall be judged innocent if the substance of the libel had to do with the public office and was proven to be truthful."
The representative of the Bar Association stated that when the summons to the hearing of this morning was received the association searched its records and found out that it had not issued any authorization pursuant to Article 79 of the Code on the Legal Profession. Hence Mr. Toubia requested that the file be referred to the Bar Association to determine whether or not such authority would be issued. The judge agreed and ordered that the file be sent to the Bar Association.
The hearing took about forty-five minutes.
When Dr. Mugraby and Mr. Azar left the judge’s office, they were met with applause.
The security forces prevented the taking of any pictures within the perimeters of the palace of justice. Hence Dr. Mugraby and Mr. Azar, escorted by a large number of supporters, exited to the sidewalk of the adjacent street where their pictures were taken.
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