Charbel Calls for Kicking off Trials at Roumieh Courtroom

Caretaker Interior Minister Marwan Charbel said Monday that the Higher Judicial Council should inspect Roumieh prison's courtroom, which he said was ready to start the trial of inmates.

“I urge the Higher Judicial Council and specifically the caretaker Justice Minister (Shakib Qortbawi) to start the trials in the prison rather than taking the inmates to the Justice Palace,” Charbel said during a press conference.

The courtroom “saves us the effort to transport the prisoners and provide security protection,” he said. “It also speeds up the trials of not just the Islamists but all the inmates.”

He made his remarks after he inspected the courtroom and restoration work at the prison along with Acting Internal Security Forces chief Maj. Gen. Ibrahim Basbous and other police officers.

Charbel warned that if the authorities failed to use the trial room, then he would turn it into a prison cell.

The caretaker minister lamented that the government had paid millions to rehabilitate the prison and that no major change was made.

“We won't pay an additional lira before the first building is fixed,” he said.

He also warned the contractor that he would reject to fund the repair project unless he carries out a clear study on the plan.

Last week, Charbel said that the “crisis in Lebanon's central prison is chronic.”

The caretaker minister pointed out that there are no doors inside the prison, saying: “We have been demanding for the last two years for the installation of modern doors and gates but no response was given.”

“We're currently focusing on keeping inmates calm and insure that no one flees,” Charbel said.

Roumieh, the oldest and largest of Lebanon's overcrowded prisons, has witnessed sporadic prison breaks and escalating riots in recent years as inmates living in poor conditions demand better treatment.