Prisoners at Roumieh take part in the Muslim Eid al-Fitr prayer on April 10, 2024. (Credit: NNA)
Syrian prisoners incarcerated in Lebanon's Roumieh prison, northeast of Beirut, some serving life sentences or on death row, began a hunger strike Tuesday, demanding repatriation to Syria.Incarcerated for nearly a decade for their involvement in the bloody events of 2014 in Arsal in the Bekaa Valley, where the Lebanese army clashed with jihadists from the Islamic State organization and al-Nusra Front, the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda, the prisoners deny the accusations against them and hope for a resolution to their cases.A statement published on social media by these men, who described themselves as "prisoners of conscience," explained that they wish to return to Syria, in line with the request made by the new Syrian president Ahmad al-Sharaa in early January during a meeting in Damascus with former Lebanese Prime Minister...
Syrian prisoners incarcerated in Lebanon's Roumieh prison, northeast of Beirut, some serving life sentences or on death row, began a hunger strike Tuesday, demanding repatriation to Syria.Incarcerated for nearly a decade for their involvement in the bloody events of 2014 in Arsal in the Bekaa Valley, where the Lebanese army clashed with jihadists from the Islamic State organization and al-Nusra Front, the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda, the prisoners deny the accusations against them and hope for a resolution to their cases.A statement published on social media by these men, who described themselves as "prisoners of conscience," explained that they wish to return to Syria, in line with the request made by the new Syrian president Ahmad al-Sharaa in early January during a meeting in Damascus with former Lebanese Prime Minister...