961 Today

Member of the National Moderation Bloc, MP Walid Al-Baarini, issued a statement commenting on what was issued by prisoners in Roumieh Prison and other Lebanese prisons, and said: “Based on national and humanitarian responsibility, and after the issuance of the statement issued by a number of prisoners on October 9, 2025, which clearly expressed the extent of the tragedy and suffering inside Lebanese prisons, I find it my parliamentary and humanitarian duty to raise my voice loudly in defense of the right to justice.” And dignity, and to demand immediate and bold steps that put an end to this issue, which successive governments have neglected for many years.

The statement continued: “The facts stated in the prisoners’ statement about the lack of food and medicine, the delay of trials for more than ten years, and the absence of balanced justice, place the Lebanese state before a moral and constitutional responsibility that cannot be postponed. Prisons are not a place to humiliate a person, but rather to reform him within the standards of justice and mercy, and they must not be turned into silent graves behind walls.”

He added: “Therefore, I demand the following: the formation of a supreme national committee under the supervision of the Presidency of the Republic, the Presidency of the Government, and the House of Representatives, which includes representatives of the judiciary, human rights, and security forces, to comprehensively review the conditions of prisons and unsentenced detainees.”

Accelerating trials for anyone whose detention period has exceeded the legal limit, and approving the reduction of the prison year to one time as a humanitarian step.

Open the file of Syrian detainees, especially those who were arrested for reasons related to their affiliation or support for the Syrian revolution, and work immediately to extradite them to their country in accordance with clear agreements between the Lebanese and Syrian governments, in a way that guarantees their human and legal rights.

Review life sentences and executions and set a clear time limit for them, in accordance with international human rights standards.

Immediately improve living and health conditions in prisons through an emergency budget allocated for this purpose.

He considered that these demands do not express a rebellion, but rather a cry of pain from Lebanese and Syrians living in inhumane conditions, and they deserve to be heard by those who have sworn to serve justice, as he said.

Al-Baarini called for dealing with this issue seriously, firmly, and quickly, far from political calculations, because the continuation of injustice in prisons is a humanitarian and security time bomb that affects Lebanon’s reputation as a state of law and justice.

He stressed that “defending the rights of prisoners does not mean justifying the crime, but rather defending balanced justice that does not distinguish between one person and another, and I declare my readiness to participate in any committee or national initiative that puts this file on the path to a permanent solution.”