Lawyers in Lebanon consider the union prohibition to be political intervention

 


The recent restriction by their union on media appearances not approved by the syndicate has attorneys in crisis-hit Lebanon more concerned because they claim it equates to political intervention. The restriction, according to lawyers and human rights advocates, also breaches rules governing free expression and silences their work on accountability.

The alarm was raised once more on Thursday when Nizar Saghieh, a well-known activist lawyer, was subjected to a three-hour interrogation by the chairman of the Beirut Bar Association for breaking the law by speaking to the media without authorization.

The leader of the monitoring organisation Legal Agenda, Saghieh, spoke to media in protest of the choice. Nadir Gasbard, the association's chairman, cited attorneys who routinely appear in the media and openly remark on ongoing cases as evidence that the ban, which was imposed in March, was necessary to avert what he called "chaos in the judiciary."

Saghieh has criticised the government's investigation of the fatal 2020 Beirut Port explosion and offered legal commentary on political choices, claimed human rights breaches, and corruption cases, including the investigation of Lebanon's troubled Central Bank governor for money laundering.

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