After being on strike for more than 10 days, Lebanese lawyers gathered in a meeting at the Justice Palace in Beirut to commemorate four martyred judges.
In the meeting, the head of the Beirut Bar Association Melhem Khalaf announced that lawyers will continue to strike in what he called the “Great Lawyers’ Uprising,” demanding the adoption of a law on judicial independence within 20 days.
“Enough is enough,” he blasted, warning that justice was in danger. He called on the Lebanese to rally behind the uprising and urged for support from the Tripoli Bar Association and judges to join the uprising to achieve the common goal.
“We announced the first step of this uprising by calling on those concerned to approve the proposal for the independence of the judiciary immediately within a period not exceeding twenty days,” he said.
Khalaf added that if the law does not come into force, then no one should blame lawyers for the closure of courthouses across Lebanon, not to stop justice, but to make sure justice is served right. “Not as a suspension of justice, but a suspension of injustice,” he said.
Lebanon’s lawyers began the strike after lawyer Rami Ollaik was arrested then released on bail and banned from practicing law and entering the Justice Palace for 2 months for criticizing Lebanon’s top prosecutor judge Ghassan Oueidat.
