Islamist prisoners in Lebanon’s Roumieh Prison have launched an open-ended hunger and strike, including a total refusal to take medications, even by those with chronic illnesses, before being joined by all inmates of Building B. The protest comes in response to the Constitutional Council's decision to suspend the general amnesty law pending a ruling on the appeal filed by the Strong Lebanon Bloc, headed by MP Gebran Bassil. The inmates have held the political factions obstructing the general amnesty file fully responsible for their lives. The hunger strike has thrust the prison file back to the forefront and placed an additional responsibility on the state, particularly the Internal Security Forces tasked with managing the facilities, raising fears of a return to unrest and riots. Kicking off the hunger strike overnight on Monday, the prisoners issued a statement addressed to Lebanese public, saying they were taking their "escalatory step after seeing their humanitarian issues turned into a bargaining chip for political gains and partisan quota calculations." They spoke of "long years of detention extending over many years, during which they were deprived of raising their children and caring for their families, while some of them passed away in captivity." They expressed their gratitude to all officials and concerned parties who sought to grant them an opportunity for release and lashed out at those obstructing the general amnesty law. They underlined their "complete refusal to be used as a scapegoat or pretext to execute political agendas at the expense of their suffering and the lives of their children." They called for mass protests in Beirut and across Lebanon to support their cause. They also called on the Syrian people to join. The prisoners reject the use of the amnesty law as a bargaining chip in political disputes and electoral grandstanding. The spokesperson for the "Prisoners of Lebanon," Sheikh Omar Al-Atrash, said: "The hunger strike is a peaceful protest through which we seek to deliver a message to all officials." He told Asharq Al-Awsat: "It is unacceptable for the general amnesty file to transform from a humanitarian issue addressing overcrowding in prisons and slow trials, into an issue used in a populist, sectarian manner." He noted that this law "had achieved Sunni consensus, agreement from various Lebanese political forces, and the signatures of the three presidents, and it is entirely unacceptable for the Constitutional Council to be used to challenge it." He viewed this as "a challenge to the political consensus and the Sunni consensus above anything else." The strike is not limited to Islamist detainees, but includes other prisoners as well. A security source explained to Asharq Al-Awsat that "all inmates of Building B in Roumieh Prison entered a hunger strike on Sunday evening." The source pointed out that "the primary reason for the strike is the Constitutional Council's decision to suspend the general amnesty law, based on the appeal submitted by the Free Patriotic Movement, headed by Gebran Bassil," noting that the building houses around 420 prisoners, including 156 Islamists. The strike did not extend to other buildings and sections at Roumieh, nor did the remaining prisons witness any similar movement. The security source said that "the inmates of Building B are the primary beneficiaries of the general amnesty law, as the majority of them face death sentences or life imprisonment." The security source revealed that prison officials are monitoring inmates with chronic illnesses, ensuring that they take their medications. They are prepared to handle any medical emergency.
