03 September 2022; MEMO: Lebanese Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi has revealed that his country's prisoners are overcrowded by 300 per cent, and 75 per cent of inmates are not convicted, Anadolu Agency reported on Friday.
"We demand a reduction in all penalties, and we are studying the proposal from a legal point of view with the Minister of Justice and with the presidency of the government to find a solution to overcrowding," Mawlawi shared.
The number of inmates inside Lebanese jails, according to MP Ashraf Rifi, has reached 9,500, noting it was "worrying" when the number reached 4,000 when he was chief of the security services.
Amidst the dwindling living standards in the country, which is suffering a severe economic crisis, families of the inmates are worried about them because of the lack of proper services inside the prisons.
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Families, according to Anadolu Agency, said that their sons: "Do not have proper food or medical care."
Last week, Arabi21 reported that families of inmates at Roumieh Prison claimed a mysterious virus had been killing detainees.
The London-based Arabic news website reported that three prisoners died, one caused by an illness, while the other two were due to cardiac arrest.
The Presidency of the Lebanese Government asked the Ministry of Interior to investigate the matter, according to Arabi21.
While Mawlawi sought a reduction of all penalties to reduce overcrowding, other officials reported that the reduction of overcrowding should not be at the expense of justice.
