Calls from Roumieh Prison Postpone Escalatory Moves by Families of Islamic Detainees

Sources familiar with the developments related to the file of Islamic detainees stated that communications took place from inside Building "B" at Roumieh Prison, urging supporters of the cause to postpone escalatory steps that had been prepared in the streets during the past days.

According to the sources, the anticipated moves included blocking roads in several Lebanese areas, protesting what the families of the detainees consider a delay in implementing the general amnesty law and sentence reduction approved by the Parliament and signed by President Joseph Aoun, before the Constitutional Council suspended its effects following an appeal filed by MPs from the "Free Patriotic Movement".

The sources clarified that the decision to postpone is linked, as conveyed by the detainees, to the desire not to turn protest movements into an additional source of tension in the streets, given the delicate circumstances Lebanon is going through. They added that the detainees appreciate the stance of Prime Minister Nawaf Salam regarding their issue, and refuse, according to the sources, for their movements to be used against the government or within political tug-of-war frameworks.

While the communications contributed to postponing escalation steps, the sources believe this postponement may not be sustainable if no developments are recorded on the file, especially with the continued hunger strike by a number of prisoners in Roumieh, accompanied by increasing health and humanitarian repercussions, according to circulating data on the strikers' conditions.