Mashnouq Inspects Roumieh's Block B, Vows to Strike Smugglers with Iron Fist
Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq on Tuesday made an inspection visit to Roumieh priosn's notorious block B, a day after its Islamist inmates were transferred to another ward, vowing to punish any officer or prison guard responsible for the smuggling of cell phones to the facility.
"I came here to inspect the building and determine how it can be turned into a humanitarian prison as soon as possible,” Mashnouq told al-Jadeed TV's reporter during the tour.
“A few donations can turn this place into a facility enjoying the humanitarian requirements so that inmates can return to it – all the inmates, whether they are terrorist or not,” the minister added.
He hoped the renovation will happen within three months at the latest.
“It was impossible to leave the situation as it is,” Mashnouq added.
Earlier, the minister stressed that the state will not allow any violations at the prison.
“The prisoners were taken to the new facility (block D) wearing only their clothes and without any prohibited item,” Mashnouq said in comments published in As Safir newspaper on Tuesday.
He revealed that the prison's notorious block B, which was known as a virtual no-go zone for security forces, where prisoners have access to laptops, phones and money, will be rehabilitated.
The minister underlined that the tight security measures at Roumieh will continue as the Internal Security Forces will prioritize the situation at the facility.
“Violations will not reoccur.”
Mashnouq noted that he briefed the cabinet about the situation in Roumieh and the remaining prisons in Lebanon, saying: “I told them (ministers) frankly that the interior ministry can no longer endure the situation of the facilities, which are crowded with around 8,000 prisoner while their capacity is around 2,500.”
The minister called on the state to provide the interior ministry with around $60 million to implement the plan set for prisons under the supervision of the cabinet.
Mashnouq had vowed in 2014 to rehabilitate Roumieh and dismantle the "mini-state" that was established in it, revealing a two-stage plan to resolve the situation at the facility and improve the conditions of the inmates.
Roumieh, the oldest and largest of Lebanon's overcrowded prisons, has witnessed sporadic prison breaks in recent years and escalating riots in recent years as inmates living in poor conditions demand better treatment.
On Monday, security forces took full control of Roumieh prison's block B after storming the overcrowded facility and seizing illegal items from Islamist prisoners, with Mashnouq describing the operation as a “victory for the state.”
A security source told al-Joumhouria newspaper published on Tuesday that the “surprise factor was part of the zero-hour to storm block B.”
He said that around 800 to 900 inmates, most of them Islamists, were transferred to the new block D.
The source added that the prisoners “weren't able to carry with them their cell phones, electronic equipment and laptops.”
“The prisoners are no longer five star inmates.”
The source revealed that security forces reactivated devices that disrupt cell phone signals to prevent inmates from using their mobiles.
“Security forces are fully controlling the prison and its facilities.”
H.K./Y.R.
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