Miqati Heads Security Meeting as Inmates Set for 'Prisons Revolt'

Prime Minister Najib Miqati held on Wednesday a meeting with several ministers and security officials to tackle the conditions of the prisons across Lebanon after reports emerged that inmates are gearing up for a revolt to demand a general amnesty.

Interior Minister Marwan Charbel told reporters at the Grand Serail that the courtroom that is currently being built at Roumieh prison will be completely on October 15, which will facilitate kicking off trials of all the inmates at the facility.

He confirmed media reports that he held a three-hour meeting with inmates at Roumieh prison, Lebanon’s largest prison facility, on Wednesday and was briefed about their humanitarian conditions.

The meeting was held in presence of deputy Prime Minister Samir Moqbel, Charbel, Justice Minister Shakib Qortbawi, Internal Security Forces chief Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi , Higher Relief Council Secretary General Ibrahim Bashir and several other officials.

Al-Liwaa newspaper reported on Wednesday that inmates at prisons across Lebanon are gearing up for a revolt to demand a general amnesty as officials voiced fear that security forces guarding the facilities won't be able to contain the riots.

According to the report, Charbel said that security forces intercepted phone calls between several inmates who are preparing for an “uprising” in prisons across Lebanon on Thursday.

He informed the cabinet that convened at the Grand Serail on Wednesday that guards at prisons will not be able to control the mutiny, demanding the government to take the necessary precautionary measures including the deployment of army units, the daily said.

A security source pointed out that prisoners have been contacting each other through mobile phones as guards can't prevent them from obtaining these devices as long as the prison cells remain without doors.

On Saturday, prisoners held 10 policemen hostages and set fire to their mattresses over demands for a general amnesty.

Roumieh has witnessed several riots in the past over poor conditions and a slow judicial process.

The prison was originally built to house 1,500 inmates but is today crammed with nearly 4,000 men -- 65 percent of the country's prison population.