In a cell where light barely seeps in, Mahmoud, along with “Islamist prisoners” in Building B of Roumieh Prison, made a decision the harsh consequences of which they fully understood in advance: to start an open-ended hunger strike.
The “Islamist prisoners” announced their decision on Sunday in a video message, pledging to proceed with the strike in rejection of what they described as “selective justice,” and to continue until what they called a “path toward comprehensive justice” is achieved. They also called for a protest in Riyadh al-Solh Square on Friday.
Appearing in the video was Ahmad al-Assir, the former imam of Bilal bin Rabah Mosque in the southern city of Sidon, known for his support of the Syrian uprising and his opposition to Hezbollah. Assir is linked to the 2013 Abra clashes, when his group attacked an army checkpoint, leading to a death sentence issued against him by the military court. His appearance in the video added a political dimension to the protest and renewed attention to the long-debated issue of a general amnesty.
The hunger strike, which effectively began on Monday, is not a fleeting protest, Mahmoud told the Alhurra website. Detained over videos found on his phone containing jihadist chants, Mahmoud described the strike as the culmination of years of neglect, procrastination and prolonged waiting behind walls that, in his words, “bury people alive.” In this reality, hunger is no longer the greatest danger, he said; rather, it is the sense that justice itself has become an unattainable privilege.
The announcement of the strike came amid reports of progress in talks between Lebanese and Syrian authorities over the issue of Syrian detainees in Lebanon. The strikers view this step as partial, arguing that it applies only to a specific category while leaving other files unresolved, without a comprehensive approach.
The term “Islamist prisoners,” also known as “Islamist detainees,” refers to a category of inmates composed largely of Lebanese Sunnis, alongside prisoners of Syrian and Palestinian nationality. They were detained in connection with major security episodes, including the Dinniyeh clashes in 2000, confrontations with the Lebanese army—most notably the battles of Nahr al-Bared and Abra—as well as rounds of violence in Tripoli linked to the fallout of the Syrian war and participation in fighting inside Syrian territory.
Some of these prisoners are serving harsh sentences, including life imprisonment or death, while others have spent long years behind bars without trial, turning their cause into one of Lebanon’s most controversial judicial and human rights files.
“Justice Is Indivisible”
Following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria, an official negotiation track was launched between Beirut and Damascus to address outstanding issues, foremost among them the file of Syrian prisoners in Lebanon. Days ago, Justice Minister Adel Nassar revealed advanced technical discussions with the Syrian side to transfer Syrian prisoners to serve their sentences in their home country. Speaking on Télé Liban, he stressed that the agreement distinguishes between those with final verdicts and those under prosecution, aims to ease overcrowding, and does not constitute a “general amnesty.”
In this context, Mohammad Sablouh, director of the Legal Support Program at the Cedar Center for Legal Studies, said that “the Lebanese state suddenly decided, after the fall of the Syrian regime, to address the Syrian file through successive agreements outside any comprehensive legal framework, while Lebanese prisoners were left to face a suspended fate.”
Sablouh asked, in comments to the Alhurra website, “Is it conceivable that a single case includes Syrians and Lebanese sentenced to life imprisonment or death in files tainted by torture and fabrication—violations documented in international reports—yet the Syrian is released while the Lebanese remains behind bars for life?” He warned that such an approach “will ignite an explosion inside the prisons.”
The Strike Spreads
The hunger strike did not remain confined to Building B, quickly expanding to include other buildings and prisons.
This development has once again thrust prison conditions into the spotlight. Human rights advocates, including Sablouh, say the hunger strike “reveals the depth of despair facing prisoners,” warning that matters could take “an escalating turn.”
Mahmoud, for his part, warned that the strike could lead to deaths, “especially since a number of sick inmates have stopped taking their medications.” He stressed that there is “no time limit for the strike” and that any official initiative would later be assessed based on its seriousness.
Concerns persist that the prisoners’ protest could slide into more dangerous phases if it fails to elicit an official response. In this regard, a source in the Internal Security Forces told the Alhurra website that he hoped matters would not reach that scenario, emphasizing that work inside prisons is based on “cooperation, coordination and constant dialogue with prisoners,” which he described as “a key factor in limiting any potential escalation.”
Numbers and Jurisdiction
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Roumieh Prison holds around 3,500 inmates, despite having a capacity of only 1,050, turning cells into “spaces of collective punishment unfit for human beings.”
Sablouh noted that overcrowding in Lebanese prisons has “exceeded 300 percent,” while the number of Syrian prisoners is estimated at around 2,000, most of whom lack judicial rulings. Among them are approximately 160 detainees held on terrorism-related charges, particularly in connection with the 2014 Arsal events, when armed groups, including the Nusra Front and ISIS, launched attacks on the Lebanese army.
“If the Syrian authorities succeeded in lifting injustice from Syrian prisoners in Lebanon,” Sablouh asked, “who will lift the injustice from Lebanese prisoners who supported the Syrian revolution and were thrown into jail?”
The security source, however, stressed that the issue of trials and expediting them “does not fall within the mandate of the Internal Security Forces, but rather lies with the judiciary.”
Conditions Inside Prison
Prisoners describe conditions in Lebanese jails as “tragic,” citing rising death rates and a lack of health care. They reported 44 inmate deaths over the past year, in addition to six deaths since the beginning of this year, one of them by suicide.
In this context, the Association for the Care of Prisoners and Their Families warned, during a meeting held at Dar al-Fatwa, of a “humanitarian and social catastrophe that is worsening day by day,” calling for the swift resolution of trials and the passage of a general amnesty law. On Monday, mothers and wives of Islamist detainees staged a protest, saying their sons’ suffering has continued for more than 14 years, “from fabricated files and torture to vindictive military courts and harsh prison conditions.”
The issue of a general amnesty periodically resurfaces, but political divisions over its scope and limits continue to block its adoption.
Sablouh said the suffering of prisoners in jails and courthouse holding cells “affects all categories,” due to the state’s failure to secure basic rights, including hospitalization, medication, health care, hygiene and food. He also cited the irregular transfer of detainees to court hearings amid a near-complete paralysis of the judiciary caused by a strike by judicial assistants. He pointed to repeated deaths resulting from medical negligence and delays in transferring patients to hospitals.
While accusations of neglect in medical care and nutrition persist, the security source said prison conditions have “seen noticeable improvement compared with previous years.”
In a statement issued on Jan. 25, the Internal Security Forces said that “the lives and health of prisoners are a trust and a responsibility that cannot be taken lightly,” adding that medical measures are taken when necessary, in coordination with security and medical staff in all Lebanese prisons, to ensure that each inmate receives appropriate health care inside prison or in a hospital if transfer is required, with continued follow-up upon return.
Between Hunger and Waiting
Sablouh pointed to draft laws stalled for years in Parliament, including proposals to reduce the prison year on a one-time basis, set limits on life and death sentences, and release detainees who have spent more than 10 years without trial. He stressed that these proposals do not amount to a general amnesty, but rather “constitute an entry point to transitional justice aimed at protecting basic rights and addressing suffocating overcrowding in prisons.”
He warned that Lebanese prisons today stand on the brink of chaos, emphasizing that the solution lies in “passing the amnesty bill submitted by the National Moderation Bloc in December 2024,” which seeks to grant amnesty for certain crimes and exceptionally reduce some sentences.
Today, the Lebanese state faces a real challenge: either move quickly to contain the crisis through urgent judicial, legal and humanitarian measures, or allow it to worsen, risking security and humanitarian repercussions that may be difficult to control.
