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By Meris Lutz BEIRUT: All judges and lawyers working in the criminal court system were strongly urged Thursday to take advantage of the newly activated National Committee for Combating Addiction following reports that some drug users were still being denied the option of treatment. Civil society activists, with the blessing of caretaker Justice Minister Shakib Qortbawi, held a news conference at the Justice Ministry to remind judges and lawyers that Law 673, otherwise known as the 1998 law, states that drug users who complete treatment at a government-approved facility should have the charges against them dropped. Up until last year, however, no such facilities existed, and the committee remained inactive. In the meantime, thousands of drug users were processed as criminals, without recourse to treatment. Lawyer Nizar Saghieh, speaking on behalf of the nonprofit rights publication Legal Agenda, told the assembled media that “the primary obstacle to this was the delay in founding facilities to provide free treatment, and this material obstacle led to another obstacle: The crippling of the legal mechanisms for pursuing treatment as an alternative to prosecution.” He went on to praise the activation of the committee in January of this year, emphasizing that a number of addicts have already benefitted by receiving treatment and are in the process of being reintegrated into society with clean criminal records. “Despite the activation of the committee, a number of judges have displayed an unwillingness to implement the law, just as some judges and lawyers, especially in the regions [outside Beirut] remain [unaware] of these developments,” he said. Saghieh was followed by Lina Aya Chamoun from the Justice and Mercy Association, and Sandy Mteirek from Skoun Lebanese Addictions Center, who echoed his demands that all parties working within the legal system cooperate with the council. Saghieh, a well-known human rights lawyer, was already involved in spearheading a campaign of strategic litigation to try and force judges, in the absence of the committee, to follow the spirit of the law when Qortbawi made the push to activate it for the first time. “Unfortunately we have received many cases [of judges] refusing [to refer cases to the committee],” Saghieh told The Daily Star on the sidelines of the news conference. “That’s why we wanted to have this [event] inside the courts, in order to remind the lawyers and judges that now we have a big responsibility to activate this committee,” he added. The five-member committee is presided over by Judge Randa Kfoury, who estimated that it had processed about 37 cases when she spoke to The Daily Star in June. According to official statistics, about 2,000 people are charged every year with drug use, as opposed to trafficking or other drug-related offenses. Kfoury and Saghieh have both cited the need to remove the remaining financial burden from drug users who avail themselves of the treatment option. The Health Ministry currently covers just 85 percent of treatment at the state facility in Dahr al-Basheq. Regarding the apparent unwillingness on the part of some judges to refer defendants to the council, Saghieh blamed a “classical” mindset that seeks to punish what it does not approve of. “I think that is really the main problem, why the judges resisted, and now it’s become more and more unacceptable that they resist,” he said. “We are going to keep monitoring and keep publishing that these decisions are wrong.” Chamoun, a lawyer with the Justice and Mercy Association, which has worked with addicts both inside and outside the prison system, said the committee was crucial for enforcing the law. “Before the committee was activated, even the judges, we had to come to them and say ‘this person is getting treatment’ for them to reach an agreement with us to release the person or stop the prosecution,” she explained. “Now, we coordinate with the committee, the detained person is transferred immediately.” Copyrights 2011, The Daily Star - All Rights Reserved 05/07/2013 Source Link