Lebanese Prisoners on Hunger Strike for 18 Days Amid Amnesty Law Suspension

The medical condition of dozens of inmates on a hunger strike for more than two weeks inside Lebanon’s largest prison has deteriorated, according to a legal campaigner. "About 400 prisoners are on a hunger strike for more than two weeks. Ambulances enter daily to take [dozens of] them away because their condition is dire," Mohammed Sablouh, a Lebanese lawyer, told Al Jazeera. "The prisoners are refusing medication, food and water," Sablouh, who is also the director of the Prisoners’ Rights Center at the Tripoli Bar Association, said on Wednesday. The inmates at Roumieh prison began their hunger strike on September 12 in protest against the suspension of a general amnesty law, which could have granted an immediate release or reduced their sentences. Protests have also been staged in Lebanon’s second city of Tripoli against the suspension of the law, which includes a provision to release inmates jailed for petty crimes. Many of the prisoners on hunger strike were arrested for their solidarity with the Syrian revolution against President Bashar al-Assad, who was toppled in December 2024 after more than 10 years of conflict. The Free Patriotic Movement, one of the country’s largest parties, filed an appeal before the Constitutional Council over concerns that some of the inmates were charged with "terrorism". The Constitutional Council is expected to issue its verdict next month. Lebanese prisons are known for being overcrowded, with thousands of inmates spending years behind bars without trial. Lebanon’s current prison population stands at about 8,500, nearly double its capacity. The law passed on August 12 aimed to address overcrowded prison conditions in the country. "Prison overcrowding exceeds 330 percent of the facilities’ actual capacity," Sablouh said. "The situation in Lebanon’s prisons is truly tragic; it can no longer withstand any ... shock or any overturning of the amnesty law." More than 40 prisoners died in 2025, with some deaths attributed to medical neglect, others to torture, and some by suicide due to prolonged trials and repeated postponements, according to Sablouh. He attributed the large number of inmates to judicial delays, noting that many were arrested for petty crimes. He highlighted the judiciary's failure to adhere to Article 108 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which limits pre-trial detention to two months for misdemeanours, renewable for an equal period, and six months for felonies, renewable for an equal period up to a maximum of one year.