“Lebanon Debate”
It was learned that the Cassation Public Prosecutor approved the request of the former Governor of the Bank of Lebanon, Riad Salameh, to equip his cell in the Information Division building in Roumieh Prison with an air conditioner and a television, in addition to a table and a chair, less than 24 hours after he was transferred again to the prison.
But the decision cannot be separated from the path that preceded Salameh’s arrival in Roumieh, which raises serious questions about the method of dealing with one of the most prominent detainees in Lebanon, and the amount of facilities he is now receiving compared to thousands of other prisoners.
From the beginning, the best option for Salama was to remain in Bahnes Hospital, where he spent part of his previous detention period in conditions radically different from prison conditions, inside a ward that enjoyed a high level of comfort and services. When his stay there ended and he was transferred to the information building in Roumieh, a health crisis quickly began, accompanied by his abstention from taking some medications and food, amid attempts to transfer him again to the hospital.
However, the destination was not good this time. Salama was transferred to Dahr El-Bashek Hospital, where the result was the opposite of what he could have wanted, as the living conditions there were not better than Roumieh, but rather were more difficult in terms of comfort and available services.
Here the scene completely changed. The medical report concluded that Salama’s condition did not require him to remain in the hospital, and that his health needs could be met within the place of his detention, so the decision was issued to return him to the information building in Roumieh.
In practice, the return from Dahr al-Bashek to Roumieh was not a “blow” to Salama as much as it ended up improving the conditions of his detention. Only hours later, he received approval to equip his cell with an air conditioner, a TV, a table, and a chair, making returning to Roumieh the most comfortable option compared to what he faced in Dahr al-Bashek.
Here the main question marks arise.
Does every detainee in Lebanon have air conditioning, a TV, and special equipment inside his cell? Are requests from other prisoners considered with the same speed and flexibility? Or does Riad Salama have different standards of dealing?
The issue is no longer about an air conditioner or a TV. The issue relates to the principle of equality between detainees, and the message sent by the judiciary when facilities are accumulated for the benefit of one detainee, in a country whose harsh prison conditions everyone knows.
Salama did not return to Bahnis, but he left Dahr al-Bashek to find better conditions in Roumieh than what he had expected.
The question that remains before the judiciary is clear: Where do humanitarian considerations end, and where does privilege begin?
