Relatives of Islamist Prisoners Rally in Tripoli, Block Key Square
Relatives of Islamist prisoners staged a new protest on Friday to press for a “general amnesty.”
The National News Agency said a march was organized after Friday prayers in the northern city of Tripoli.
Protesters gathered at the Grand al-Mansouri Mosque and roamed several streets before reaching the Abdul Hamid Karami Square, where speeches were delivered, demanding “a general amnesty and the release of prisoners.”
The demonstrators blocked all roads leading to the square, amid strict security measures that were taken by the Internal Security Forces, NNA said.
The blocking of the roads caused a severe traffic jam in central Tripoli according to the agency.
Similar protests were held Thursday in Tripoli, Sidon and the Bekaa.
Hundreds of prisoners had started a hunger strike Thursday in Lebanese prisons to press for the approval of a general amnesty.
The move followed a call from detained Islamist cleric Khaled Hoblos.
Addressing President Michel Aoun, Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Saad Hariri, Hoblos called in an audio recording for “finding a solution for thousands of detainees from all sects.”
“We, the detainees in Lebanese prisons, are resuming our hunger strike under the slogan Freedom or Death,” Hoblos says in the audio recording.
Several protests have been held across Lebanon in recent months demanding that Islamist prisoners be part of a discussed general amnesty.
Lebanese authorities have rounded up hundreds of Sunni Islamists over the last years, including some involved in bombings against civilians and deadly clashes with the Lebanese Army. They also include extremists believed to belong to al-Qaida-linked groups and the Islamic State group.
A lot of Islamist prisoners and their families have decried delay in judicial procedures and trials. Some prisoners are held for several years without trial or conviction.
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