Now Lebanon - Rifi: An ‘operations room’ coordinated protests by Roumieh inmates and their families - April 13, 2011

Internal Security Forces (ISF) Director General Achraf Rifi said in an interview published on Wednesday that “an operations room was directing the prisoners and their families together” during recent Roumieh prison protests.
“This showed us that the movement was about more than just demands,” he told An-Nahar newspaper.
“We gave negotiations [with protestors] two days to succeed, but the situation in the field was deteriorating quickly.”
“The prisoners are divided into three different categories,” Rifi also said, clarifying that these are criminals, Islamists, and collaborators with Israel.
The security operation that took place in the prison was “a military security operation and did not require a political decision,” the ISF commander added.
“We did our duty under the rule of law and we are proud of what we did.”
Security forces stormed the Roumieh prison last week after talks failed to secure the release of three guards taken hostage by inmates who had been demanding amnesty and better conditions in the prison. The riots within the prison coincided with protests by inmates’ families in various locations in Lebanon.
-NOW Lebanon