ROUMIEH, Lebanon: Justice Minister Shakib Qortbawi toured Roumieh prison Wednesday where he announced that his ministry might take over the administration of prisons and address serious underlying problems.
The minister’s visit was part of a renewed push by Cabinet ministers to improve the country’s woefully crippled criminal justice system.
Qortbawi said he has set up a committee to see if his ministry can take control of the prisons and improve the country’s widely criticized inconsistent detention practices and the poor living condition inside prisons. “We have begun. We have a special committee between our two ministries [Justice and Interior ministries],” Qortbawi said. “It’s a difficult process that could take three years.”
Internal Security Forces from the Interior Ministry currently administer the nation’s prisons and the Justice Ministry does not have the capacity at the moment to take on such a mission.
At a news conference after his tour with Interior Minister Marwan Charbel and ISF Major Gen. Ashraf Rifi, Qortbawi acknowledged some of the major problems in the criminal justice system. He said inappropriate sentencing, prisoners staying in jail after their term is complete and a backlog of casework are serious impediments to a functioning justice system.
But Qortbawi was also positive about progress already being made by his ministry. He said the numbers of cases of improper detention are going down, but the Justice Ministry can’t take all responsibility for the prison system woes.
“There’s a lot of talk in the country about blaming the judiciary, we are exaggerating matters as if everything depends on the judiciary,” he said.
Qortbawi’s tour and remarks are part of a renewed focus from ministers on improving Roumieh and prisons around the country. Last month Health Minister Ali Hasan Khalil was led on a tour of the facility and broad promises have been made of pending improvements from an array of government officials.
But ministers face serious bureaucratic and institutional hurdles if any progress can be made on this perennially targeted state malady.
Roumieh prison is a massive dilapidated concrete complex first erected in the early 1970s on the side of the mountains in Metn district. Built for 1,500 people, the facility now houses double that number. In some wings of the facility, foul-smelling cells are full of prisoners who must use hammocks instead of beds to conserve space.
Most prisoners aren’t separated by degree of criminal violation or age, and hundreds of prisoners have been said to be kept beyond their prison terms due to disorganization. Length of detention for non-Lebanese from non-Western countries can be inconsistent and treatment can be harsh.
Chronic overcrowding has been cited as a major contributing factor in the uprising in Roumieh last spring that killed at least four prisoners and injured nearly 10 after the ISF and army carried out a joint raid to stop rioting. Lengthy prison terms and little access to medication have sparked protests and road blockages from inmates families in recent months as well.
As much as Qortbawi’s remarks created possibilities for reform they also raised the question as to who exactly bears responsibility for the system that the government has unsuccessfully tried to improve for decades.
There are limited bodies dedicated to training personnel and the ISF has taken on the role of prison warden almost by default.
If Qortbawi’s out to save Lebanon’s prisons, he’s not out to do it alone or take all the blame for its dysfunction. The problem is deep-seated and needs to be shared, he said.
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