Lebanese human rights lawyer Nizar Saghieh targeted by Beirut Bar Association

Prominent Lebanese human rights lawyer Nizar Saghieh was summoned to the Council of the Beirut Bar Association (BBA) on Thursday in what human rights organisations are calling an attempt to "muzzle free expression."

Saghieh, the founder of Lebanese legal monitor Legal Agenda, says he "assumes the summons is related to freedom of speech," but the BBA did not specify why he was called to appear.

Thursday's summons occurred after the BBA amended its code of conduct in March so that lawyers could not participate in media interviews, panels or discuss legal issues on social media without getting prior approval from the BBA president.

Saghieh was among the most vocal opponents of the new rule, telling The New Arab that it was "against freedom of expression," and that it centralised power in the hands of the BBA president.

He and 12 other lawyers have appealed the Council of the BBA's new code of conduct, taking it before the Beirut Court of Appeals.

"Instead of answering with the law and saying why they are confident that their decision is legal, they … tell me 'Come here we are going to interrogate you.' So that means that my opponent is my judge at the same time," Saghieh said. 

He added that he fears the BBA will move to disbar him following Thursday's session.

Lebanese lawyers have said that they fear the BBA's new rules could produce a chilling effect among lawyers in a country where the independence of the judiciary is already under assault.

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers on 5 April condemned interference in the work of the Lebanese judiciary, specifically with regards to the investigation into the deadly Beirut blast which killed over 251 people.

"The Lebanese public needs to understand the work of the judiciary in major crimes committed against the public, mainly by individuals or groups in power," Diala Chehadeh, a Lebanese lawyer, told TNA.

"Such knowledge would encourage the public to seek justice and to identify the competent judges and the corrupt ones," Chehadeh said.

The New Arab requested comment on Saghieh's case and the new code of conduct from the BBA, but it declined to respond.

The BBA's summons prompted outrage and condemnation from Lebanese civil society organisations, as well as international human rights monitors like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.

Hundreds also showed up in solidarity in front of the Beirut Palace of Justice on Thursday morning, where Saghieh entered for his hearing.

The change in BBA's code of conduct and summons of Saghieh comes on the back of a series of moves by different authorities in Lebanon to crack down on free speech.

The editors-in-chief of two different media outlets in Lebanon were sued in March for defamation by Lebanon's top public prosecutor and major Maronite political party the Lebanese Forces, respectively.