Rights groups denounce military trials of civilians
BEIRUT — A year after mass protests roiled Lebanon, dozens of protesters are being tried before military courts, proceedings that human rights lawyers say grossly violate due process and fail to investigate allegations of torture and abuse.
Defendants tried before the military tribunal say the system is used to intimidate protesters and prop up Lebanon’s sectarian rulers.
Around 90 civilians have been referred to the military justice system so far, according to Legal
Agenda, a human rights group based in Beirut.
“We expect many more people to be prosecuted,” said Ghida Frangieh, a lawyer with the group.
The trials underscore the growing perils of activism in Lebanon, where a string of court cases and judicial investigations against journalists and critics has eroded the country’s reputation for free speech and tolerance in a largely autocratic Arab world.
Justice Minister MarieClaude Najm did not respond to a request for comment. Lebanese officials typically do not address the question of why civilian cases are being tried in the military court system. Security forces have denied beating and torturing protesters and activists in detention.
Frangieh said that security forces arrested around 1,200 people from the beginning of the antigovernment uprising in October 2019 through the end of June.
On Nov. 13, Jad Al Rayess was fined 200,000 Lebanese Pounds ($ 132) by a military court, 11 months after security forces detained him at a protest on Beirut’s Ring Road. The court has not yet released a statement with the charge for which he was convicted.
He said he plans to emigrate from Lebanon.
“We are not going to get any progress without blood, and that’s nothing I want to be involved in,” he said.
Many detained protesters find out only a month or more after their release that authorities referred them to military courts. According to Legal Agenda, the military courts usually issue summary decisions on the same day of the trial, without issuing an explanation.
“Military courts have no business trying civilians,” said Aya Majzoub, a researcher with Human Rights Watch. The rights group has called on Lebanon’s parliament to end the practice.