Prisoner commits suicide in Roumieh prison, ISF denies reports of second case
L'Orient Today / By Malek Jadah,
05 July 2025 18:02
Roumieh Prison, the largest in Lebanon, near Beirut. (Credit: Marwan Assaf)
BEIRUT — A prisoner in the Roumieh prison committed suicide on Friday, a security source confirmed to L'Orient Today.
According to the pan-Arab news outlet The New Arab, a 40-year-old Syrian national who had been detained for about two and a half years without any trial session, died by suicide. The New Arab added that he was found on Friday evening hanged in the prison's kitchen.
On Saturday, news emerged that a second person committed suicide in the same prison as a result of not providing him with the necessary medicines. However, the Internal Security Forces (ISF) denied these reports, adding that the concerned person is currently in a hospital as he "suffers from respiratory diseases." "On a page belonging to the Prisoners' Families Committee, news is circulating that a prisoner in the Roumieh Central Prison has taken his own life ... This news is untrue. The mentioned prisoner, after suffering from a health condition resulting from his condition ... [asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease], was urgently transferred to the hospital where he regularly receives treatment", the ISF's statement reads. The ISF added that his "health condition was periodically monitored inside the prison, the medicines he needs are always available, and he is currently receiving the necessary treatment in the hospital." Prisons in Lebanon suffer from chronic overcrowding and often deplorable detention conditions. Many detainees languish in their cells for years awaiting trial.
BEIRUT — A prisoner in the Roumieh prison committed suicide on Friday, a security source confirmed to L'Orient Today.According to the pan-Arab news outlet The New Arab, a 40-year-old Syrian national who had been detained for about two and a half years without any trial session, died by suicide. The New Arab added that he was found on Friday evening hanged in the prison's kitchen."On a page belonging to the Prisoners' Families Committee, news is circulating that a prisoner in the Roumieh Central Prison has taken his own life ... This news is untrue. The mentioned prisoner, after suffering from a health condition resulting from his condition ... [asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease], was urgently transferred to the hospital where he regularly receives treatment", the ISF's statement reads. ...
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