Naharnet - Security Forces Liberate Hostages after New Roumieh Mutiny - April 7, 2011

Army and police commandos on Thursday managed to contain a new mutiny by inmates in Lebanon's notorious main prison of Roumieh, less than two days after quelling similar four-day riots at the same jail. Around 4:00 p.m. Thursday, prisoners at Roumieh's bloc D took two policemen and three workers hostage, prompting security forces to launch an operation to liberate them. The rescue operation ended successfully and the five were freed without any violence or bloodshed. Meanwhile, relatives of Roumieh inmates kept up their protests demanding an amnesty for the prisoners. They staged a sit-in in front of the Justice Palace in Beirut for the first time. As night fell, security forces managed to reopen the Beirut airport highway after relatives of the prisoners blocked it with burning tires and pelted the troops with rocks. Protesters also blocked roads in the Baalbek neighborhoods of al-Sharawneh and Shaat. Two inmates died late Tuesday when security forces stormed Roumieh prison to quell a mutiny by the prisoners and secure the release of several guards. Security officials said one of the inmates died when a sonic bomb he grabbed from a policeman detonated in his hand. They said the other inmate died of a heart attack during the raid. The assault freed three or four guards who had been taken hostage by the prisoners; at least six inmates were injured. The rioting started on Saturday by prisoners demanding improved conditions. They later set a fire inside one of the buildings. The riot was contained on Wednesday. Roumieh was originally built to accommodate 1,500 prisoners but its population has swelled to as many as 4,000, making conditions intolerable, authorities say. Of the 3,700 prisoners currently held there, a mere 721 have been tried and convicted. The remainder have been awaiting trial, some for months or even years.