Syrian inmate's suicide sheds light on dire conditions in Lebanon’s prisons

The suicide of a Syrian man in Lebanon’s Roumieh Central Prison has cast a new light on the dire conditions inside the country’s prisons, particularly medical neglect and the delay of trials.

The prisoner, who has been identified as Mohammed Fawaz al-Ashraf, 40, was a Syrian national who had been detained for around two and a half years without a single court hearing in that time, The New Arab’s Arabic language sister publication, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported.

Reports state he was found hanged in the prison kitchen on Friday evening, with security and medical sources confirming that it was a suicide case.

According to reports, Ashraf had been suffering from severe psoriasis for over three months, which had spread across his body and significantly affected him, physically and psychologically.

Despite purchasing the necessary medication from the prison store, the prison administration forbade him from taking it to his cell, causing his condition to deteriorate.

Al-Ashraf, originally from the city of Homs, also lived in near-total isolation in prison. With no relatives in Lebanon, he was also left to face his illness and imprisonment alone, which sources in the prison believe contributed to his suicide.

This was followed by news circulating over the suicide of another prisoner, an elderly man from the Bekaa Valley, who spent nearly 30 years in prison; however, the reports were quickly debunked after security sources confirmed the prisoner was still alive and receiving regular treatment for his respiratory issues.

Dire conditions

Human rights activists have since raised the alarm over conditions inside Lebanon’s prisons.

Mohammed Sablouh, a lawyer and director of the Cedar Centre for Legal Studies, told al-Araby Al-Jadeed that what happened was a "crime against humanity," and those neglecting prisoners should be held fully accountable.

"We lost nearly 30 prisoners over the past year due to medical negligence," he said, adding, "we hoped for a new era, but we fear that we will be faced with an oath that lacks substance and commitment".

He said the suicide, coupled with the rumour of another one, "raises serious questions and reveals the depth of the crisis inside prisons".

He went on to call for a transparent and independent investigation into the death.

Raeda Solh, a human rights activist and a member of the Prisoners’ Families Committee, described the incident at Roumieh Prison as an "ongoing tragedy that is worsening by the day".

"Today we were shocked by the news of a prisoner’s suicide after he was deprived of medication…this reflects the extent of the despair prevailing behind bars," she said.

"The deteriorating health situation, especially in the summer, leads to the spread of skin diseases and pushes prisoners to the brink of collapse," she continued.

She went on to demand swift solutions that address prisoners’ physical and psychological needs.

Amnesty International previously shed light on deaths in Lebanese prisons. The rights group said in 2023 that deaths in prisons run by the Lebanese Ministry of Interior "nearly doubled" in 2022.

According to Amnesty, overcrowding, governmental neglect, and a lack of adequate healthcare are likely behind the increase in deaths, with an increase of 18 deaths in 2018 compared to 34 in 2022.

"The sharp increase in custodial deaths must be a wake-up call to the Lebanese government that their prisons need urgent and drastic reform," Aya Majzoub, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa, said in a statement at the time.

The organisation pointed to a lack of "basic healthcare" in Lebanese prisons, as well as officials minimising prisoners' symptoms and denying them timely care as contributing to the increase in deaths.

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