As Safir reported on Thursday that inmates in Roumieh’s bloc D have started a hunger strike on Wednesday, demanding the speeding up of trials and improvement of the conditions in the prison.
The strike coincided with a sit-in held by the families of the prisoners before the prison on Wednesday, which has been moved to Riad al-Solh square in downtown Beirut where three tents have been set up in solidarity with their sons.
The newspaper said: “The situation in the prison has become dire after the recent uprising and none of the pledges vowed by the officials have been fulfilled.”
“The prisoners are preparing for a bloody rebellion that will shock the world, not just Lebanon, should our demands not be met,” an inmate told As Safir.
“The wardens began adopting a new approach towards the prisoners where they are stirring tensions among the inmates in order to demonstrate to the media that we are constantly fighting with each other,” he added.
“The prison has become infested with gangs comprised of prisoners and wardens,” he revealed.
Another prisoner stated: “The inmates are preparing for a bloody massacre if no one pays attention to us during our hunger strike.”
“No one can imagine the kind of life we are enduring here,” he declared.
He revealed that prisoners are prevented from receiving treatment in case of illness.
They are only referred to the prison pharmacy and not a hospital, he said.
So far, 300 of 950 inmates in bloc D have launched the hunger strike, while negotiations are underway with others in bloc B to join them, reported As Safir.
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