Lebanon’s Prisoners Call For General Amnesty to Prevent Catastrophe

Security forces raided Lebanon's notorious Roumieh prison, seen here in April 2006, after discovering that inmates were linked to a deadly bomb attack last week, security services said (AFP Photo/Ramzi Haidar)
Security forces raided Lebanon's notorious Roumieh prison, seen here in April 2006, after discovering that inmates were linked to a deadly bomb attack last week, security services said (AFP Photo/Ramzi Haidar)
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Lebanon’s Prisoners Call For General Amnesty to Prevent Catastrophe

Security forces raided Lebanon's notorious Roumieh prison, seen here in April 2006, after discovering that inmates were linked to a deadly bomb attack last week, security services said (AFP Photo/Ramzi Haidar)
Security forces raided Lebanon's notorious Roumieh prison, seen here in April 2006, after discovering that inmates were linked to a deadly bomb attack last week, security services said (AFP Photo/Ramzi Haidar)

Inmates of Lebanon's Roumieh prison (Northeast of Beirut) called on the concerned authorities to approve the General Amnesty Law, to avoid a health catastrophe that may be caused by the spread of the Corona virus among them.

In a statement on Sunday, the prisoners said that a large number of them suffered from “chronic pulmonary diseases and diabetes”, adding that there was no thermometer in prison, and the pharmacy did not provide masks or sterilizers.

They warned that they would begin a hunger strike in the coming days, if their demands were not met.

Under the same slogan, a number of families of prisoners gathered on the road leading to the Presidential Palace in Baabda, in parallel with the holding of the cabinet session, calling on President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister Hassan Diab for general amnesty for their children, for fear of the spread of the Corona virus in prisons in all regions.

In this regard, the head of the Human Rights Committee, MP Michel Moussa, called for “the distribution of prisoners in vacant government buildings.”



Türkiye Resolves Residency Dispute of Exiled Brotherhood Judge Sharaby

Egyptian judge Waleed Sharaby (Facebook)
Egyptian judge Waleed Sharaby (Facebook)
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Türkiye Resolves Residency Dispute of Exiled Brotherhood Judge Sharaby

Egyptian judge Waleed Sharaby (Facebook)
Egyptian judge Waleed Sharaby (Facebook)

An exiled Egyptian judge affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood said he ended an open-ended hunger strike after Turkish authorities intervened to resolve his residency status, following a public plea to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Waleed Sharaby, who fled to Türkiye in 2016 after being sentenced in Egypt, announced on Facebook late Thursday that he was halting his protest, which began outside a police station where he had been staging a sit-in.

He said the hunger strike was in response to Turkish authorities preventing him from leaving the country and refusing to renew his residency for nearly two years.

Sharaby claimed Turkish security services had acted on pressure from Egypt’s intelligence services, prompting him to appeal directly to Erdogan. He did not provide evidence for the alleged interference.

Moreover, Sharaby said he ended a two-day hunger strike and sit-in protest in Türkiye after receiving a call from a senior Turkish official who pledged to resolve his legal and residency issues.

Sharaby wrote on Facebook that he returned home and resumed eating on Thursday after the official, whose identity he did not disclose, invited him to a meeting and assured him that part of the issue would be resolved soon. “We may succeed in fully resolving the matter following this initial step,” he said.

Sharaby, who fled Egypt in 2016 after court rulings against him, began his hunger strike on Wednesday outside a police station in protest over what he described as Turkish authorities’ refusal to renew his residency for nearly two years and a travel ban that prevented him from leaving the country.

According to sources, Turkish authorities briefly detained him on Wednesday while attempting to depart the country, citing alleged financial violations involving Turkish citizens. He was held for a day before being released, after which he launched his protest.

During his sit-in, Sharaby publicly appealed to Erdogan via Facebook, asking for a personal meeting or for the issue to be referred to the appropriate authorities.

He claimed he had been subjected to “severe harassment” and travel restrictions, including pressure on a business he owns in Türkiye and a ban on leaving the country to seek asylum, reportedly in a European state, where his wife and children relocated nearly two years ago.

Turkish authorities have not publicly commented on the case. Türkiye has hosted several exiled members of the Muslim Brotherhood following the group's ouster from power in Egypt in 2013, though Ankara has since moved to restore ties with Cairo.

Sources close to Sharaby said Turkish authorities have agreed to grant him humanitarian residency, allowing him to remain in the country permanently despite the expiry of his Egyptian passport.

The move aligns with similar measures taken for other members of the Muslim Brotherhood, which is designated a terrorist organization by the Egyptian government.