Prisoners in Roumieh prison, the largest in Lebanon, located northeast of Beirut, on April 7, 2006. (Credit: AFP archive photo)
No sooner had Parliament passed the general amnesty law, after bitter political wrangling and marathon negotiations, than news of its adoption had already reached Roumieh Prison, Lebanon’s largest penitentiary. Behind its bars, the law’s adoption was met with celebration. For some detainees and convicted, freedom is now within reach. For others, the law has shortened their sentences and, for the first time, given them a release date they can count down to.In Bloc B of the prison, Islamist detainees erupted in celebration. Under the law passed on Wednesday, nearly 80 of the 150 Islamists held in Lebanese prisons could be released. Abu Omar, a pseudonym for a man who has been behind bars since 2014, says he is covered by the law, as his case is before the Court of Justice rather than the Court of Cassation. Read more Parliament passes...
No sooner had Parliament passed the general amnesty law, after bitter political wrangling and marathon negotiations, than news of its adoption had already reached Roumieh Prison, Lebanon’s largest penitentiary. Behind its bars, the law’s adoption was met with celebration. For some detainees and convicted, freedom is now within reach. For others, the law has shortened their sentences and, for the first time, given them a release date they can count down to.In Bloc B of the prison, Islamist detainees erupted in celebration. Under the law passed on Wednesday, nearly 80 of the 150 Islamists held in Lebanese prisons could be released. Abu Omar, a pseudonym for a man who has been behind bars since 2014, says he is covered by the law, as his case is before the Court of Justice rather than the Court of Cassation. Read more Parliament...
