Iloubnan - Guards held by inmates at Lebanon prison - April 5, 2011

Three prison guards were being held hostage on Tuesday at Lebanon's largest jail where inmates demanding amnesty and better conditions have been rioting since the weekend, the prison chaplain at
Rumieh told AFP.

"The inmates resumed their protest movement Monday evening and it is continuing at this hour," said Father Marwan Ghanem, who is involved in negotiations to free the guards.

"The guards, who were taken on Monday, are in good health and are being treated well," Ghanem added. "Authorities have been able to contact them to make sure they are OK.

"The inmates consider them as brothers and are holding them just to pressure authorities to respond to their demands."

He said electricity had been cut off at the prison to prevent inmates from recharging cell phones introduced illegally into the facility.

The inmates began rioting on Saturday, burning mattresses and smashing windows and doors to press their demands for better conditions at the overcrowded prison located 12 kilometres (eight miles) northeast of Beirut.

Authorities Sunday evening said the mutiny had ended peacefully.

The interior ministry said it had been working to improve conditions at Rumieh for two years, and urged other ministries and the cabinet to follow suit by speeding up the trials process and providing finance.

Poor conditions in prisons and a slow judicial process have sparked several riots in Lebanese jails. Some prisoners can be incarcerated for years before their cases come to court.

Compounding the situation is the political stalemate in Lebanon which has been without a government since January, when Prime Minister Saad Hariri's cabinet was toppled by the powerful Hezbollah and its allies.

Rumieh was originally built to house 1,500 inmates but is today crammed with more than 4,000 men -- 65 percent of the country's prison population.