A Range Rover with a false distinctive plate for judges. (Credit: DR)
Suspected of impersonating judges, four men (whose names L’Orient Today is withholding) will be questioned on Tuesday by Beirut investigative judge Assaad Bayram. Their case was referred for further investigation by Court of Appeal President Habib Rizkallah after the Beirut Public Prosecutor's Office closed its initial inquiry last week.
The four alleged impostors were arrested on July 5 on the orders of Attorney General Myrna Kallas, who supervised the criminal police investigation before transferring the case to the Public Prosecutor's Office.
According to a judicial source interviewed by L’Orient-Le Jour, the Public Prosecutor's Office initiated action following a judicial report filed in June by a lawyer who later did not respond to investigators' summons. The investigation revealed that three of the four detainees had been using the titles of international judges and advisors to the International Court for Dispute Resolution (INCODIR) for over two years. Based in London, INCODIR provides arbitration and mediation services for international commercial disputes. The fourth suspect claimed to be INCODIR's secretary general.
The four men posted photos on Facebook with political figures. One photo shows them with the former leader of the Progressive Socialist Party Walid Joumblatt at his Clemenceau residence, captioned that their discussions covered Syrian refugees, the electoral law, decentralization, and the need to elect a president, "an essential key to resolving Lebanon's crisis."
Contacted by L’Orient Le-Jour, Joumblatt confirmed the meeting but quickly realized they were "a bunch of imposters and pirates."
Another photo shows the group with MP and former Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi, with whom they claimed to have discussed Syrian refugees and the Gaza war's impact on Lebanon as "INCODIR delegation members."
Rifi, contacted by L’Orient-Le Jour, said he did not recall such visitors under the label of international lawyers.
"Not Serious"
Former Prime Minister Tammam Salam also received two of the accused, one of whom described himself on Facebook as a "special envoy for Lebanese affairs by Incodir's MENA department," and the other as a "judge" within the institution.
A source close to Salam confirmed the meeting, noting that Salam "did not take them seriously." Topics discussed included "awareness of justice and peace," and Salam referred them to the Higher Judicial Council and the Lebanese Judges Association. A source from the Council confirmed no meeting occurred, and Lebanese Judges Association President Faisal Makki said the same for his association.
Other judges recalled a person who presented themselves as an "international judge" at one of the Association’s conferences in September 2022.
Beirut Bar Association President Fadi Masri said he “vaguely” remembered a group requesting a meeting, which he declined due to uncertainty about their identities and the purpose of their visit.
The judicial source confirmed that the Justice Ministry's directorate verified the four men were not judiciary members. To act as international judges without Lebanese registration, they would need to be part of another country's judiciary they represent. The source added the alleged impostors possessed seals from the international court, displayed false titles on official documents and had vehicles with distinctive magistrate markings, which were all seized.
Sanctions
What penalties could the four men face if convicted? The penal code (Article 392) states that anyone falsely presenting themselves as holding public office could be imprisoned for anywhere between two months to two years. If accompanied by another offense, the penalty increases by one-third to a half of the sentence.
The motive behind the men's false claims will be revealed by Judge Bayram's further investigation. The judicial source questioned whether they sought prestige or aimed to attract clients needing representation in foreign disputes, which would constitute fraud and justify harsher penalties.
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