Roumieh prison in Metn, Lebanon. (Credit: Marwan Assaf/File)
BEIRUT — Two prisoners recently died in Roumieh prison — Lebanon's main prison, located in Metn — the Internal Security Forces (ISF) confirmed in a statement on Thursday.
The ISF indicated that prisoner A. K., an unregistered minor, likely took his own life by hanging on Wednesday. A.K., 16, was in prison for theft and gang organization.
"Yesterday, [A.K.] was transferred from the Ramlet al-Baida platoon to building C in Roumieh prison, which is a building designated to receive new prisoners in order to monitor their health conditions under the supervision of nurses from the World Health Organization," the ISF said.
"After examining the body by a forensic doctor, it was found that the victim had died by hanging, and there were no signs of violence," the statement added.
The second prisoner, A.I., who was a 32-year-old with Palestinian nationality, died on Monday of cardiac arrest, according to the ISF. He was serving time in Roumieh for a drug offense.
An investigation is underway to uncover the circumstances of both incidents, the ISF added.
In 2021, prisoners in Roumieh self-mutilated to protest the poor conditions in the prison, a video that circulated on social media showed.
The video showed one man threatening to hang himself and other prisoners bleeding and saying that they were not hospitalized despite having health problems.
Prisoners also claimed that they were being mistreated by the guards.
Roumieh prison housed nearly 4,000 inmates at the end of 2020, almost three times its capacity.
Prisoners’ living conditions worsened during Lebanon’s ongoing economic crisis.