Coronavirus spreads in Lebanese prisons

Relatives of detainees in Roumié prison demonstrate in front of the Ministry of Justice in Beirut on September 14, 2020. ANWAR AMRO / AFP

Text by: Paul Khalifeh Follow

4 min

After having succeeded in containing the progression of the Covid-19, Lebanon is now hit hard by the pandemic.

The spread of the virus has accelerated at an exponential rate after the large rallies, protests and funerals that followed the double explosion at the port of Beirut on August 4.

Today, the country has more than 37,000 contaminations and 351 deaths for a population of 5 million inhabitants. 

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With our correspondent in Beirut,

Hundreds of contaminations have been recorded in prisons in Lebanon where the situation seems dire.

Almost 10% of the 4,000 detainees in Roumié prison, north-east of Beirut, have tested positive.

Dozens of guards and members of the security forces are also infected.

The situation is serious because this prison accommodates three times more prisoners than its initial capacity. 

Videos circulating on social networks show crowded cells, detainees lying on the floor on mattresses, without the slightest respect for distance and barrier gestures.

In the prison in the town of Zahle, on the eastern Bekaa plain, almost half of the 550 inmates tested positive.

The situation is not much better in other prisons in the country.

The alert from the Order of Physicians

Authorities initially tried to downplay the scale of the problem.

The president of the Order of Physicians and the President of the Bar of Beirut had to alert public opinion for measures to begin to be taken.

The president of the Bar Association spoke of a “ 

 ”.

Hundreds of virus tests have been carried out in Roumié and other establishments in an attempt to define the extent of the problem.

Affected prisoners are isolated and quarantined in specially equipped buildings in prisons;

three hospitals specifically dedicated to detainees have been prepared in Beirut and in the Bekaa.

The prison administration also facilitated telephone contacts between prisoners and their families.

Inmates not very cooperative

But by the admission of the President of the Order of Physicians himself, the detainees are not very cooperative and do not respect urgent health standards.

The inmates demand a radical solution to the problem of prison overcrowding.

Their families have organized several

to support this demand and ask for an amnesty.

Thousands of prisoners have been awaiting trial for years, but the courts are overwhelmed and there are not enough judges.

The president of Beirut Melhem Khalaf called for the acceleration of legal proceedings, but for the moment, the priority goes to strengthening health measures.

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• Lebanon

• Coronavirus

• Health and medicine