Civil society activists held a sit-in near the military tribunal in the Mathaf area on Friday to call for the release of those detained during a protest they held a day earlier in downtown Beirut.
Security forces used water cannons and eventually fired tear gas canisters on Thursday night to disperse dozens of anti-government protesters who tried to get past security barricades and reach parliament.
Police had erected new barricades near An Nahar daily building to keep the protesters away from the parliament and government offices.
By late Thursday, some protesters tried to break the security cordons, prompting authorities to use water cannons. Protesters lobbed rocks and water bottles at the security forces.
The clashes caused heavy damages to the nearby DT restaurant and the entrance of Hotel Le Gray, said the Internal Security Forces.
One of the lawyers of civil society activists said that more than 60 demonstrators were arrested during the protest. Some of them need medical care, he told LBCI.
Several of the female detainees were released later Thursday.
The lawyers of the detainees said they told State Commissioner to the Military Court Judqe Saqr Saqr that the tribunal cannot bring civilians into trial.
The lawyers said they also called for the release of all the detainees because their right is protected by the Constitution.
But according to them, Saqr said they cannot be set free until measures are taken against them.
Dozens were also injured during Thursday's protest. George Kettaneh from the Red Cross said 39 injured policemen and demonstrators were transported to hospitals.
The protests against Lebanon's ruling elite came as a result of the garbage crisis that activists warn has become a menace to public health.
The crisis began in July when the closure of the Naameh landfill, Lebanon's largest, caused rubbish to pile up on Beirut's roadsides, in parking lots and river beds.
