Lebanese Prisoners’ Health Turns ‘Dire’ as Hunger Strike Continues

The health of dozens of inmates protesting inside Lebanon’s largest correctional facility has deteriorated to a “dire” level after eighteen days of fasting, according to legal advocates monitoring the situation.

Mohammed Sablouh, a lawyer and director of the Prisoners’ Rights Center at the Tripoli Bar Association, told Al Jazeera that approximately 400 prisoners have refused food and water since September 12. He reported that ambulances are entering the facility daily to evacuate severely ill inmates.

“The prisoners are refusing medication, food and water,” Sablouh said, emphasizing the severity of the ongoing protest.

The demonstration was launched in opposition to the suspension of a general amnesty law passed on August 12, which was designed to alleviate severe overcrowding by granting releases or sentence reductions for certain offenders. Many of those participating in the strike were detained for expressing solidarity with the Syrian revolution against former President Bashar al-Assad, who was ousted in December 2024 following over a decade of conflict.

Protests supporting the amnesty law have also emerged in Tripoli, Lebanon’s second-largest city. The law includes provisions for the release of individuals jailed for petty offenses.

The Free Patriotic Movement, one of Lebanon’s major political parties, has lodged an appeal with the Constitutional Council regarding the suspension. The council is anticipated to deliver its ruling next month after reviewing concerns that some detainees were charged with terrorism-related offenses.

Sablouh highlighted that Lebanon’s prison system is critically strained, with a current population of roughly 8,500 inmates—nearly twice the intended capacity. He stated that overcrowding exceeds 330 percent of the facilities’ actual limits.

“The situation in Lebanon’s prisons is truly tragic, it can no longer withstand any … shock or any overturning of the amnesty law,” he said.

The lawyer also pointed to judicial delays as a primary driver of the prison crisis. He noted that more than 40 prisoners died in 2025 due to medical neglect, torture, or suicide linked to prolonged pre-trial detention and repeated court postponements. Sablouh criticized the judiciary for failing to adhere to Article 108 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which sets strict time limits on pre-trial detention for both misdemeanors and felonies.