BEIRUT: Lebanese prisons are crowded to almost twice their capacity and are dangerously neglected and mismanaged by the authorities, a damning report said on Tuesday.
The authoritative report, entitled, “Prisons in Lebanon: Legal and Humanitarian Concerns,” released by the Lebanese Center for Human Rights (LCHR), also demanded the swift closure of two “unacceptable” detention facilities. The 108-page document, researched over a ten-month period, found that while Lebanon’s 20 prisons have an official capacity for 3,653 inmates, the real number incarcerated was 5,324.
In the notorious Roumieh prison alone, about 3,500 inmates are sardined into a facility with a capacity for 1,500.
It added that as most prisons had a capacity that did not match the minimum surface requirements stipulated in the 1977 Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, the “actual capacity” of Lebanese prisons was 2,714 inmates.
“Prisons are a major problem in Lebanon but it’s more a management problem than because there are too many crimes,” Wadih al-Asmar, secretary general of the Lebanese Center for Human Rights, told The Daily Star.
He called the prison system a “vicious circle” in which stifling living conditions led to further criminal behavior amongst incarcerated persons and thus longer sentences. “It’s getting worse and worse,” Asmar said.
“This overcrowding of Lebanese prisoners is an issue that should be addressed and solved urgently, not by building new prisons, but by tackling its roots at the administrative, legal and judicial levels,” CLDH said.
The reason for such cramped conditions is largely because 66 percent of those detained are awaiting trial and 13 percent are detained arbitrarily beyond their sentence, the report found. Foreigners count for 100 percent of those held arbitrarily after completing their sentences, with 81 percent having been convicted of illegal entry and/or stay.
“In Iraq, I had a house and a good job,” the report quoted one incarcerated refugee as saying. “The war forced me to leave my country and I am punished for it.”
CLDH said that because most of those detained arbitrarily were poor and without family support, they had to resort to “begging” within the prison.
“As I have nothing, no one to support me, and to earn a little food, I began to serve inmates in my cell. I wash the toilets and prepare tea. They call me the slave,” it quoted a Bangladeshi inmate as telling researchers.
“There are a lot of simple and very easy things that we can do in Lebanon to avoid more prisoners,” Asmar said, drawing attention to the need for an improved legal aid system to assist inmates who cannot afford lawyers. It also noted the lack of commitment by lawyers provided through current legal assistance programs. Because of a lack of incentive, they often don’t bother to meet their clients or show up for hearings.
The report also noted that despite an unofficial de facto moratorium on the death penalty since 2004, 61 men and one woman were given capital punishment sentences between April and September 2009.
CLDH called for the urgent need to close the Defense Ministry Prison, notorious for widespread torture, and the General Security Retention Center, where foreigners are “held” underground for months. Not considered an official prison, the Retention Center’s poor management is the second leading cause of overcrowded prisons, the report said. The facility has no hot water and in contravention to Lebanese law, “aggressive and brutal” male guards are tasked with supervising women detainees. “We cannot accept to put people underground like animals,” Asmar said. The report calls for the facility to be closed immediately and replaced by another retention center “built and managed in compliance with international standards.”
Addressing the Defense Ministry prisons, Asmar said intelligence officials continued to torture and detain suspects. “For decades the intelligence services have appeared to be out of control, showing no respect for legal procedures.” CLDH noted that whistle-blowers are also targeted, citing the case of former detainee Adonis Akra. In November 2009, Akra was ordered to pay a fine of 10 million Lebanese pounds for undermining the army’s reputation by detailing his experience of torture in the book, “When I Became Number 16.”
CLDH’s report corroborates conclusions reached by General Ashraf Rifi, head of the Internal Security Forces, who submitted assessed Lebanon’s prisons conditions in August 2009.
Among other points, Rifi’s report warned that 280 Islamists in Roumieh are allowed to mix freely with other prisoners. Despite being a high-security facility, Roumieh lacks electronic surveillance equipment and a professional administration, he said, adding the situation could “explode” and cause a “catastrophic” tragedy.
“Jails in Lebanon need renewal, rehabilitation, utility and social services,” Asmar said. “The role of jails as a social rehabilitative institution is not being taken into serious consideration.” – Additional reporting by Wissam Stetie
The Lebanese Center for Human Rights (CLDH) is a local non-profit, non-partisan Lebanese human rights organization in Beirut that was established by the Franco-Lebanese Movement SOLIDA (Support for Lebanese Detained Arbitrarily) in 2006. SOLIDA has been active since 1996 in the struggle against arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance and the impunity of those perpetrating gross human violations.
Search This Blog
Labels
Special Tribunal for Lebanon
Detention cases
Judiciary and Prison System
Enforced Disappearance
Women's rights
Kidnappings
ESC Rights
Environment
Non Palestinian refugees and Migrants
Public Freedoms
Palestinian Rights
Military Court
NGOs
Children rights
Torture
Minorities Rights
CLDH in the press
health
Human Rights Defenders
Death Penalty
Lebanese detained in Syria
disabled rights
Political rights
Displaced
LGBT
Racism
Right to life
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Archives
-
▼
2010
(4682)
-
▼
March
(399)
- Naharnet - Prisoners Stitch Their Way Out Of Prison
- Albalad - Escwa Women In Arab Countries
- March 31,2010 - Naharnet - Prisoners Stitch their...
- March 31, 2010 - Al Mustaqbal - Lebanon Iranian In...
- March 31, 2010 - L'Orient le Jour - Iran Tehran fr...
- March 31, 2010 - L'Orient le jour - TSL : on cherc...
- March 31, 2010 - Alakhbar - Rule 74
- March 31, 2010 - Daily Star - STL interrogations o...
- March 31,2010 - naharnet Germany Alleged Lebanese ...
- March 31,2010 - almustaqbal - Improvement of pris...
- March 31,2010 - albalad - Concert in Roumieh Pris...
- March 31,2010 - Alakhbar - Detainees Rights
- March 31, 2010 - Now Lebanon - Nasrallah refuses a...
- Assafir - Global Warming The Focus Of Discussions
- Annahar - Environmental Massacre
- March 31, 2010 - The Daily Star - Oped: Are Lebano...
- Almustaqbal - Ministry of finance attended women'...
- Albalad - Woman Quota
- March 30,2010 - assafir - Iraqi spends two years a...
- March 30, 2010 - Assafir - Lebanon The family of t...
- March 30, 2010 - Annahar - Interview with STL spok...
- March 30, 2010 - The Washington Institute - Beirut...
- L'orient Le Jour - Jabal Moussa : des perspective...
- March 30, 2010 - PRESS RELEASE - Algeria: Gatherin...
- Aliwaa - Children Labor
- March 30, 2010 - Now Lebanon - Sfeir says STL shou...
- March 30, 2010 - Naharnet - Phalange Party: Refrai...
- March 30, 2010 - L'Orient le jour - Hariri à Sofia...
- March 30, 2010 - L'Orient le jour - Hariri : La vé...
- March 29,2010 - Aliwaa - CLDH demonstration In sup...
- Almustaqbal - Global Warming
- Almustaqbal - Commissioned By The Minister Of Env...
- Almustaqbal - Attempts To Construction Of The Env...
- Daily Star - First Lady Honors Winners Of Childr...
- March 29, 2010 - The Daily Star - Lebanon Rights w...
- March 29, 2010 - Daily Star - Hizbullah chief vows...
- March 29, 2010 - L'Orient le jour - Réponse implic...
- March 28, 2010 - Naharnet - Nasrallah to React to ...
- March 28, 2010 - Naharnet - Qassem Snaps Back at R...
- March 28, 2010 - ILoubnan - Wahab meets Spanish am...
- March 28, 2010 - Naharnet - Amnesty International ...
- March 28, 2010 - Now Lebanon - Wahhab: I do not tr...
- March 28, 2010 - Now Lebanon - Qassem says Hezboll...
- March 28, 2010 - Naharnet - Amnesty International ...
- March 28, 2010 - Press TV - Hezbollah to elucidate...
- March 27,2010 - Daily Star - Five still on trial ...
- March 27,2010 - Daily Star - Judge seeks death pen...
- March 27,2010 - Assafir - Ruwad replies to General...
- March 27,2010 - almustaqbal Lebanon Five still on...
- March 27,2010 - almustaqbal - CLDH sit in front of...
- March 27,2010 - aliwaa - Judge seeks death penalt...
- March 27,2010 - Aliwaa - Detainee Mahmoud Rafeh
- March 27, 2010 - Now Lebanon - Not just Mugniyah, ...
- Daily Star - Un Institutions To Turn Off Lights ...
- Aliwaa - Un Institutions To Turn Off Lights For ...
- March 27, 2010 - Naharnet - HRW: Libya Must Reveal...
- March 27, 2010 - ILoubnan - Hezbollah says Nasrall...
- March 26, 2010 - Now Lebanon - Nicolas says Khazen...
- March 26, 2010 - Now Lebanon - Zahra: LF will not ...
- March 26, 2010 - Ya Libnan - UN team asked to quiz...
- March 26, 2010 - Naharnet - Bellemare's Office: Sp...
- March 26, 2010 - Now Lebanon - Bellemare dismisses...
- March 26, 2010 - Now Lebanon - UN panel asks to qu...
- March 26, 2010 - Now Lebanon - Is Lebanon scared o...
- March 26, 2010 - Now Lebanon - Achouri refuses to ...
- Assafir - The Domestic Violence Conference
- March 25,2010 - assafir - FSI detainees in adlieh...
- March 25,2010 - almustaqbal - Human rights and det...
- March 25,2010 - Alakhbar - CLDH Refugees in Prisons
- March 25,2010 - NNA Lebanon CLDH solidarity sit ...
- March 25, 2010 - Daily Star - Tribunal investigato...
- March 25, 2010 - Now Lebanon - LBCI: Three-dimensi...
- Aliwaa - Waste Treatment Plant
- March 25, 2010 - Naharnet - Wahab: Leaked Tribunal...
- March 25, 2010 - Naharnet - Judicial official conf...
- March 25, 2010 - PRESS RELEASE - Ban Demands Justi...
- March 25, 2010 - The Daily Star - Cabinet delegate...
- Elsharq - Violence Against Woman
- Alakhbar - Apartheid In Zahleh Prison For Women
- Assafir - Conference About Women
- March 24,2010 - Daily Star - Court jails 20 AlQaed...
- March 24,2010 - almustaqbal - End the questioning ...
- March 24, 2010 - Ya Libnan - STL: Investigation of...
- March 24, 2010 - Naharnet - Fayyad: Hizbullah Not ...
- March 24, 2010 - Now Lebanon - Assad supports Slei...
- Aliwaa - World Water Day
- March 24, 2010 - Ya Libnan - Hussein: STL will not...
- March 24, 2010 - Almustaqbal - STL investigators :...
- March 24, 2010 - Al Hayat - Iraq Mass Grave
- March 23, 2010 - Daily Star - Tribunal investigato...
- March 23, 2010 - Naharnet - Investigators Begin 3-...
- March 23, 2010 - Now Lebanon - STL investigation t...
- March 23,2010 - L'Orient le jour - Fateh el-Islam ...
- March 23,2010 - L'Orient le jour - Loi 463 sur la ...
- March 23,2010 - L'orient le jour Lebanon In Roumie...
- March 23,2010 - Daily Star - Mothers of detained F...
- March 23.2010 - Daily Star Lebanon Arrest warrant...
- March 23,2010 - aliwaa -Mothers of detained Fatah ...
- March 23,2010 - alakhbar - Islamists Detainees
- Daily Star - Palestinian Refugees
-
▼
March
(399)
No comments:
Post a Comment