Lebanese government uses military trials to try to crush civilian dissent, rights watchdog warns
'Whatever happens, I'm getting out of Lebanon first chance I get,' says law student accused of rioting
Lebanon's military, which recently received millions in aid from Canada, has been increasingly using secretive military trials to crack down on civilian dissent, Human Rights Watch warns.
Last Monday, law student Layal Seblani, 20, sat in the front row of Beirut's packed military courthouse, nervously tapping her foot on the tile floor as she waited to go before the judge with 14 other young defendants.
The group was arrested in October 2015 as hundreds protested Beirut's months-long garbage crisis. Growing piles of trash were left to rot in the streets after Beirut's main landfill reached capacity and was shut down.
Frustration with the crisis spawned a movement — dubbed You Stink — that soon targeted corruption at all levels of government.
"We trespassed this wall," Seblani said, referring to a barrier erected by Lebanese security services to block a road in central Beirut. "But we didn't do anything violent towards the riot police."
Charged with rioting and destruction of property and facing hefty fines and up to three years in prison, Seblani is being tried in a military court, where judges aren't required to have a law degree or any legal training.
Military courts in Lebanon have broad jurisdiction over any case involving civilians and security personnel, but human rights groups say the military courts violate due process rights and are used to intimidate government critics and crush dissent.
Scathing report
According to a new report from Human Rights Watch, civilians — including the 14 protesters — are routinely denied the right to see a lawyer before interrogation. The group also alleges the military has used torture to extract false confessions from detained civilians, including children.
Journalists, human rights lawyers and activists have all been targeted by the military justice system, some for charges like publishing "information harmful to the reputation of the Lebanese Military," the report says.
It calls on countries that provide aid to Lebanon to pressure the government to follow the report's list of recommendations, which includes at the top: "remove civilians and all children from the jurisdiction of the military courts."
Two months ago, Canada announced $8 million for Lebanon to help reinforce the country's "security and stability," including sending Canadian trainers and equipment to help the Lebanese military defend the border against jihadist threats from Syria.
Lebanon's Defence Ministry, which oversees the military courts, said the Human Rights Watch report wasn't based on "substantiated facts." In a letter published in the report, a military official wrote: "The military judiciary in all of its statutes respects all national and international rules of law, especially what concerns respect for human rights."
Military trials are supposed to be open to the public, including the media, but in practice the presiding judge has discretion, and the courts often ignore the requests of independent observers to attend.
Human Rights Watch sent a request to observe the You Stink protesters' trial more than a month in advance but received no response, said Lama Fakih, the group's deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa.
Fakih, along with myself and a Lebanese colleague tried to enter the military courthouse last Monday, but were initially denied. We were let in after my Lebanese colleague called a personal connection who works at the court.
It was the first time Human Rights Watch had gained access to a Lebanese military trial.
'Impact of being watched'
During the 25-minute hearing, the judge ordered defence lawyers be given extra time to review video evidence they previously weren't allowed to see. He also agreed to consider a request to move rioting and destruction of property charges to a civilian court.
"We could really feel the impact of being watched," said Ghida Frangieh, a lawyer for seven of the defendants, referring to the presence of media and independent observers.
"Normally we would not be allowed to speak for very long and would often be cut off and interrupted by the judge and prosecutor."
A spokeswoman for Global Affairs Canada wouldn't answer direct questions about the human rights record of Lebanese military courts, but said Canada works with non-governmental organizations that document and promote human rights in Lebanon.
"This includes a recent project mapping existing reform strategies in the security sector and supporting the development of a reform plan," Kristine Racicot wrote in an email.
All support to the Lebanese army is non-lethal and meant to fit a "specifically identified technical or capacity need," she said.
'I'm getting out of Lebanon'
Fakih of Human Rights Watch said there's cause for optimism after being permitted to attend the hearing, but she wonders if others will be allowed to witness future trials if they don't have a personal connection at the courthouse to let them in.
"A more immediate concern," she said, "is the trial's impact on the lives of these young people. The charges will stay on their records."
Seblani is very worried. As an aspiring lawyer, a conviction could be a career-killer.
When she thinks about her professional future, Lebanon is no longer in the picture.
"I'm a law student, right?" she said after the hearing. "So I realize how stupid the law system is in my country. I'm certain that I won't be able to function in it."
She says she wants to move to Europe after graduation. Italy tops her list.
"Whatever happens, I'm getting out of Lebanon first chance I get."
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