Politics and the Judiciary
General Michel Aoun
25/11/02

On reading Lebanon’s Prosecutor General Mr. Addoum these days, the popular saying, “politics corrupts everything it touches” often comes to mind. We were once asked as students to discuss this saying and the extent of its applicability to Arabic poetry, and in particular to the poetry of Al Nabigha Al Thubiyani. And if we were to switch those bygone days for the times we live, the topic of discussion would have to be changed to the extent with which politics is corrupting the judiciary in today’s bleak and dark period of Lebanon’s history.

 I wish for once that a lawyer in Lebanon would stand up and reply to Mr. Addoum, not to defend the people he is targeting with his accusations, but to expose the legal flaws that characterize Mr. Addoum’s judicial actions and behavior. Or perhaps a judge from among Mr. Addoum’s own colleagues to object to his inappropriate behavior, which tarnishes the reputation of the judiciary with the filth of Mr. Addoum’s political subservience.

 Or one of the ministers or parliament members who never speak up to tell Mr. Addoum that he has no mandate to control the Lebanese people’s freedom of expression or to tamper with the constitution, and that he should remain within the bounds of his responsibilities and not overstep them. 

Or maybe even a journalist to muster enough courage to tell Mr. Addoum to read and listen before accusing people of sectarian incitement, instead of wrongfully aiming at Paris when he should seek out the Consultative Gathering or the Hamad Cell.  

Mr. Prosecutor General, you overlooked the judicial principle that calls for secrecy during the investigation and public openness during the trial. Rather, it seems to me that you start with a secret trial and end with a public investigation! And that is how you first prosecute, then look for the evidence, and these actions violate both the law and the ethical codes of conduct of your profession. 

We respect the judiciary and are very protective of its reputation. That is why we try to protect it from the dangerous deviancy in which you are pushing it. Mr. Prosecutor General, you have no right whatsoever to slander people. Every time you speak you attack the principle of the presumption of innocence – innocent until proven guilty –, which is the fundamental right of every accused, let alone when you fabricate the accusations. 

Mr. Prosecutor General, in your drawer there is a twelve-year-old empty file that has been through several prosecutors, judges, and inquiry committees. We ask you why don’t you close that file, and have the government that you represent return the rights it stole back to their owners? Wouldn’t it be more appropriate for a judge to close empty files than adding new frivolous – and empty – ones to them? Could you, for the sake of the judiciary and justice, explain this continuous abuse in a country whose government claims day and night that it is a nation of laws? 

Mr. Prosecutor General, you indeed amazed us with the ability of the Internal Security Forces to investigate, making us think that they have become stronger than the F.B.I. We appreciate the talents and capabilities that they possess, which enabled them to capture both the resident and immigrant wings of the “gang of ghosts”. With these forces, you should feel secure that no conspiracy will threaten Lebanon anymore, and you can therefore dedicate most of these forces to quell the “hoodlums” of the universities who harm the strong familial ties we have with our sister country Syria. 

And since we are talking about harming relations, could you explain to us, we who seek enlightenment, how can you accuse the members of the Free Patriotic Movement of harming relations with the “Sister”, when she herself does not object nor complain? Strangely enough, not once was Syria offended enough to pack up and leave in protest of the actions of those demanding her departure! We ask that you please make us privy to the reasoning that allows you to prosecute anyone, dead or alive, under Article 288 of the law. 

Finally Mr. Prosecutor General, I urge you to think hard about what you are doing, because one day you will be without the protection that shields you today from the repercussions of your actions, and someone will on that day prosecute you in the name of the same laws that you are desecrating and neglecting. Remember that “It would not have reached you, had it lasted to others”. 

Long Live Free LEBANON