Roumieh prison in Metn, Lebanon. (Credit: Marwan Assaf/File)
BEIRUT — A fight broke out on Monday among prisoners at Roumieh Prison, Lebanon's largest correctional facility, resulting in an inmate taking an ISF member hostage. The ISF announced the hostage was released early evening.
According to a senior source at the Internal Security Forces (ISF) who spoke to L'Orient Today, the fight had initially broken out on Sunday, before it was quelled. It reignited more intensely the following day.
Local media reported that the incident escalated into an "uprising," with smoke seen billowing from the prison buildings. While L'Orient Today was unable to verify video footage of the fire circulating on social media, the ISF source confirmed that a fire had been started.
Later that evening, authorities at the prison managed to release the ISF member and extinguish the fire, the ISF source confirmed to L’Orient Today.
The dire situation in Lebanese prisons has significantly worsened since the 2019 economic crisis, with severe overcrowding, malnutrition, lack of healthcare access and a rising death toll among inmates. Roumieh Prison, designed for 1,200 people, has around 4,000 inmates. The country's total prison capacity of 4,760 holds over 8,500 detainees, with four out of five still awaiting trial. The government is struggling to address the crisis, with pledges to build new facilities that have gone unfulfilled.