The Lebanese Parliament’s Human Rights Committee plans to visit every prison in the country, and has enlisted the help of local MPs in its mission, said the Daily Star Wednesday.
Speaking after the committee’s regular Tuesday meeting, committee chairman MP Marwan Fares called on parliament to amend criminal laws because “this will contribute to resolving problems associated with the prisons, laws, and the judicial authorities,” the daily added.
Fares told reporters “there are 7,328 inmates in Lebanon’s prisons, including 4,843 detainees and 2,350 people serving jail sentences of various periods.”
He said some detainees might be innocent, but might not be released for a long time due to a lack of evidence.
“This is something that we cannot overlook, especially considering the deplorable state of our prisons,” he told the paper.
Fares added that “in Roumieh prison, for instance, there are some good spots. But in the Baabda women’s prison there are only four rooms where about 40 prisoners of a wide range of ages are crammed together.” – Albawaba.com
