Security chief: No return to Roumieh impunity

The head of the Internal Security Force’s Information Branch vowed to block attempts to usher Lebanon’s largest prison back to an era of impunity, five months after security forces first stormed the notorious facility.

“We will not allow a return to the emirate that is Roumieh [prison] after it had been abolished irrevocably,” Brig. Gen. Imad Othman told the Al-Mustaqbal newspaper Tuesday. “No matter what sacrifices this might require.”

The conditions in Roumieh Prison have come under scrutiny this week after footage leaked online showed ISF officers torturing inmates. The video, according to Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk, was filmed when security forces quelled riots by Islamist inmates last April.

Five ISF officers were arrested this week after the footage surfaced on social media websites.

Othman asserted that all those who are proven to have been involved in the torture of inmates will be subject to arrest and will face strict punitive measures.

He revealed that investigations into similar cases of torture were carried out in the previous month, noting that the perpetrators were severely chastised.

The Information Branch chief lambasted the media for framing the ISF in a negative light, following its extensive coverage of the torture incident.

He said that in the past when mistakes would happen, the bureau would admit to the fault and correct it away from any media attention.

Roumieh’s notorious Block B building was temporarily emptied and shut down after a large-scale police operation in January.

Inmates had enjoyed relative autonomy in Block B and prevented security forces from entering.

After the clearing operation took place, television footage showed that prisoners had no cell doors and operated a barber shop and a coffee shop in Block B.

Footage also showed inmates on Block B had a large amount of electronic equipment, including TV sets and mobile phones.

Some of the prisoners are members of Islamist fundamentalist groups and had also been imposing Shariah law inside Block B, reports said.

Roumieh prison has been the scene of repetitive riots in past years, with inmates protesting crowded cells and slow trials.

The largest riot occurred in April 2011, when inmates set their beds on fire and broke down cell doors, in protest over subpar living conditions.