Intelligence Branch Chief Vows to Stop 'Roumieh Emirate' Rise

Internal Security Forces Intelligence Branch chief Maj. Gen. Imad Othman has said he would not allow the so-called Roumieh Emirate to reappear.

“No matter how much sacrifices we make, I will not allow the return of the Roumieh Emirate which has been abolished irretrievably,” Othman told al-Mustaqbal newspaper published on Tuesday.

His comments came against the backdrop of a scandal at Roumieh prison where guards were seen in online video clips beating Islamists.

Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq in January ordered the clearing of Roumieh's Block B after years of warnings that the overcrowded section served as a meeting point for militants to plot attacks and strengthen their networks. Prisoners in that block were known to call into Lebanese television talk shows using smuggled mobile phones.

There were even reports that the Islamists were plotting with militants from outside the prison to attack the facility and control it.

Since the decision was taken to clear the block and “since we succeeded in carrying out the security operation in it earlier this year, the parties that were damaged by our professionalism sought to revive the Emirate,” said Othman.

Othman said he wants to remind everyone that the Intelligence Branch is making sacrifices for the country and has stopped many criminals.

Intelligence officers have also contributed to confronting terrorism, he added.

G.K.

D.A.