Head of the Association of Lebanese Industrialists Dr. Fady Gemayel announced that the country’s industrialists have been providing Coronavirus supplies for 30 prisons throughout Lebanon.
In his statement, Gemayel began by thanking every industrialist who “contributed to the campaign by the Bar Association’s head Melhem Khalaf by providing cleaning supplies for Lebanon’s prisons.”
“And so, we no doubt salute the Lebanese industrialists who stand here today in the frontlines of the battle against this worldwide pandemic and provide our citizens with what they need in order to fight this battle,” he said.
He clarified that these needed products the industrialists are providing include cleaning supplies, disinfectants, food, “and all the necessary supplies for life.”
Gemayel assured that the Lebanese industrialists stand “next to everyone to take their social and national responsibility to save our country.”
He saluted everyone who worked in the medical, security, military fields, and everyone who is “fighting this global war for the safety of all the Lebanese.”
Riots took place recently in a main prison and one of the reasons was the lack of measures being taken to prevent Coronavirus from being contracted among prisoners.
According to Al-Jazeera, the status of Lebanese prisons is that of overcrowding and unsanitary conditions. There are currently 10,000 inmates distributed among 25 prisons and 261 jails, according to statistics by the Beirut Bar Association last year.
Inmates at #Lebanon’s overcrowded Zahle prison staged another protest yesterday asking to be released over fears of spread of the #coronavirus.
Some are on hunger strike and have sown their lips shut. Video from a contact with a relative inside. pic.twitter.com/dN4gMAk0w1— Timour Azhari (@timourazhari) March 30, 2020
Lawyers investigating the prisons have found them cramped and unsanitary.
Protesters in prisons such as that of Zahle and Roumieh have been rioting so that they can be released, even if for a temporary amount of time.
As it has become clearer that prisoners are vulnerable due to these conditions, some Lebanese associations, most particularly the Bar Association and the Industrialists, are doing their part to prevent the Coronavirus to spread in prisons.
Despite the growing concerns in that regard, and the infection of a security forces member with the virus, there have been no recorded cases of prisoners being infected with the Coronavirus as of the time of writing.
We have a dedicated coronavirus section where you can find the latest news/updates about the pandemic in Lebanon, inform yourself with WHO-verified resources, and track the number of cases in Lebanon in real-time. Click here.
