Dozens of inmates inside Lebanon’s largest prison have reached a dire medical condition after 18 days on a hunger strike, refusing food, water, and medication to protest the suspension of a general amnesty law. According to legal campaigner Mohammed Sablouh, approximately 400 prisoners at Roumieh prison launched the protest on September 12 following political challenges to the legislation, which was originally passed on August 12 to alleviate severe overcrowding in the country’s penal system.
Hunger Strike Sparks Medical Emergency at Roumieh Prison
The protest inside Lebanon’s Roumieh prison has created a severe humanitarian crisis as participating inmates refuse all sustenance and medical care. Mohammed Sablouh, director of the Prisoners’ Rights Center at the Tripoli Bar Association, stated that ambulances arrive daily to remove dozens of striking prisoners due to their deteriorating health. Inmate Jassem Saad el-Din, detained for approximately 10 and a half years without a formal sentence, confirmed from inside the facility that the protest has reached its 18th day without any medical intervention or nutrition.
The hunger strike directly targets the suspension of an amnesty law designed to relieve a prison population that currently stands at more than 6,200 inmates. Sablouh noted that facility overcrowding exceeds 330 percent of actual capacity, leaving the system highly vulnerable to administrative and legal shocks.
Political Deadlock Over the Suspended Amnesty Law
The legislative dispute centers on the Free Patriotic Movement, which filed an appeal before Lebanon’s Constitutional Council over concerns that certain inmates were charged with “terrorism”, including attacking the Lebanese army and planning bombings. Hezbollah initially supported the measure to secure freedom for detainees from the Shia community, but its political arm ultimately withheld votes due to opposition regarding the release of Sunni prisoners.
Many of the inmates participating in the hunger strike are Sunnis arrested for solidarity with the Syrian revolution against President Bashar al-Assad, who was toppled in December 2024 after more than 10 years of bloody war. Accompanying street protests have unfolded in Tripoli, a Sunni-majority city, demanding the reinstatement of the legal provisions. The Constitutional Council is scheduled to issue its verdict on the appeal next month.
Detainees argue that the legal delay compounds years of arbitrary detention without trial. Sablouh criticized the judiciary for failing to adhere to Article 108 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which imposes strict limits on pre-trial detention ranging from two months for misdemeanors to six months for felonies, renewable only up to a maximum of one year. The lawyer reported that more than 40 prisoners died in 2025 due to medical neglect, torture, or suicide resulting from prolonged trials and repeated postponements.
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