A checkpoint for the Internal Security Forces in Amioun - Koura after the escape of 18 prisoners. (Credit: Photo sent by Michel Hallak/ L'Orient Today)
BEIRUT — Eighteen prisoners escaped from Amioun prison in Koura Tuesday night, L’Orient Today’s correspondent in North Lebanon reported, adding that security forces had managed to apprehend five of them and a search is underway for the those still on the run.
The Internal Security Forces deployed patrols and set up checkpoints on all roads leading to the Koura area in Chekka and Madfoun, as well as between Koura and Zgharta, Douma, Tannourine and Dahr al-Ain towards Tripoli, our correspondent reported.
The escapees are Lebanese, Syrian and Palestinian nationals, as well as an undocumented man. Four of them were in detention on suspicion of murder or attempted murder, and the others on charges of theft, fraud and drug trafficking. Out of the 18 escapees, only two have been convicted; the others are still in pre-trial custody.
With the judiciary system slowed by yearslong crises and a monthslong judges' strike, many prisoners remain in pre-trial detention for months, or even years, before being brought to justice.
Prison escapes have multiplied in recent months in a Lebanon ravaged by poverty and an economic crisis that has seen the value of law enforcement officers' salaries dramatically eroded due to the depreciation of the national currency.
Nine detainees escaped in October from the Fakhreddine barracks located near the UNESCO headquarters in Beirut.
The same month, 19 inmates escaped from prison in Jounieh, in the Kesrouan region, while in August, some 30 inmates escaped from the Adlieh detention center in Beirut via a window after clandestinely bringing a tool into the premises. Some of the escapees were later apprehended.
Additional reporting by Michel Hallak.