The rehabilitation of Roumieh Prison’s notorious Block B building will be completed in 100 days, Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk said Wednesday.
Machnouk said that the rehabilitation of the facitlity was a temporary solution to the overcrowding of Lebanese prisons, with inmates to be divided between the Block D and Block B buildings.
Once revonavations are complete, 500 prisoners will be moved from Block D to Block B.
Each cell will only house three prisoners, which marks an improvement from previous conditions which saw more than five prisoners in some cells.
Machnouk said that reforms are also being made to improve the relationship between inmates and the prison's administration, including the introduction of complaint boxes.
Machnouk also said that new measures have reinforced prison security in a bid to prevent the recurrence of riots that rocked Block D last month, and the Block B building a couple of years earlier.
With security forces being criticized for allegedly using excessive force with prisoners when putting down the riots, Machnouk announced that measures were taken against individuals accused of misconduct.
Two soldiers were fired and a number of other police officers have complaints registered on their records, he said.
