28 Days Of Hunger Strike: Tuberculosis In Roumieh Prison?
Around 600 inmates in several Lebanese prisons entered their 28th day of a hunger strike and a refusal to take medication, protesting the suspension of the general amnesty law.
The prisoners’ spokesperson reported that the number of critical medical cases among the strikers had risen to 72 as of Saturday morning.
The spokesperson said the deteriorating health of the strikers was heightening tensions inside the prisons, which had already been on edge since the general amnesty law was challenged several weeks ago.
Meanwhile, the Lebanese Observatory for Prisoners’ Rights reported that Roumieh Prison authorities transferred four inmates from the sentenced prisoners’ building to the Azzounieh Hospital late Friday night, after they were confirmed to have tuberculosis. The inmates were identified as “A.Z.,” “A.H.,” “K.A.” and “A.R.”
The observatory said the confirmed cases and the transfer of those infected to isolation had heightened concerns it had previously raised about the spread of the disease among prisoners. It called on the relevant authorities to declare an urgent public health emergency and take effective measures to curb transmission.
In their daily message, the prisoners held up a banner reading: After 28 days of striking, tuberculosis has arrived, but the amnesty has not. Do not add death and injustice to our suffering.
The strike involves inmates in Buildings B and D at Roumieh Prison, as well as prisons in Jeb Jenin, Baalbek and Rashaya. They are demanding an end to the suspension of the general amnesty law.
