Critical Crisis at Roumieh Prison as Lebanese Inmates Refuse Food and Water for 18 Days

A general view shows the Roumieh prison located in Roumieh, Lebanon. Picture taken October 1, 2020. The medical condition of dozens of inmates on a hunger strike for more than two weeks inside Lebanon’s largest prison has become critical, according to a legal campaigner.

“About 400 prisoners are on a hunger strike for more than two weeks. Ambulances enter daily to take them away because their condition is dire,” Mohammed Sablouh, a Lebanese lawyer, told Al Jazeera. “The prisoners are refusing medication, food and water,” Sablouh, who is also the director of the Prisoners’ Rights Center at the Tripoli Bar Association, stated on Wednesday.

The inmates at Roumieh prison initiated their hunger strike on September 12 to protest the suspension of a general amnesty law, which held the potential to grant immediate releases or reduced sentences. Demonstrations have additionally taken place in Lebanon’s second city of Tripoli concerning the suspension of this legislation, which features a provision allowing for the release of individuals jailed for petty crimes.

A significant portion of the hunger-striking prisoners were originally arrested due to their solidarity with the Syrian revolution against President Bashar al-Assad, who was ousted in December 2024 following more than a decade of violent conflict. The Free Patriotic Movement, serving as one of the nation's major political parties, filed an official appeal with the Constitutional Council amid concerns that certain inmates faced charges related to “terrorism.” The Constitutional Council anticipates issuing its final verdict during the following month.

Lebanese correctional facilities are widely recognized for severe overcrowding, leaving thousands of detainees to spend years incarcerated prior to trial. Current population figures for Lebanon’s prison system hover around 8,500 individuals, reaching nearly double the intended structural capacity.

The legislation originally passed on August 12 was designed to alleviate severe facility congestion across the nation. “Prison overcrowding exceeds 330 percent of the facilities’ actual capacity,” Sablouh noted. “The situation in Lebanon’s prisons is truly tragic, it can no longer withstand any … shock or any overturning of the amnesty law.”

Reports indicate that more than 40 prisoners lost their lives throughout 2025. “Some died due to medical neglect, others under torture. Some died by suicide due to prolonged trials and repeated postponements,” Sablouh explained.

The Lebanese lawyer attributed the massive inmate population directly to judicial delays, highlighting the failure of the judiciary “to adhere to Article 108 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which sets a limit for pre-trial detention: two months for misdemeanours, renewable for an equal period, and six months for felonies, renewable for an equal period up to a maximum of one year.”