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.”



Italy Sends Humanitarian Flight with Aid for Gaza Population

Palestinians inspect the destroyed home of the Muheisen family following an Israeli airstrike in the Al Zwaida neighbourhood in the central Gaza Strip, 18 July 2024. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER
Palestinians inspect the destroyed home of the Muheisen family following an Israeli airstrike in the Al Zwaida neighbourhood in the central Gaza Strip, 18 July 2024. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER
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Italy Sends Humanitarian Flight with Aid for Gaza Population

Palestinians inspect the destroyed home of the Muheisen family following an Israeli airstrike in the Al Zwaida neighbourhood in the central Gaza Strip, 18 July 2024. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER
Palestinians inspect the destroyed home of the Muheisen family following an Israeli airstrike in the Al Zwaida neighbourhood in the central Gaza Strip, 18 July 2024. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER

Italy has sent food supplies and health equipment for the Gaza population aboard a humanitarian flight that landed in Jordan, a statement said on Thursday, as part of Rome's "Food for Gaza" initiative to help civilians there.
Aid includes over 60 tons of food, hygiene kits and sanitary equipment, along with 150 tents. The flight, which departed from the southern city of Brindisi, has landed in the Jordan capital of Amman from where the materials will be delivered to Gaza.
"With this operation we give a tangible demonstration of the attention that the Italian government is dedicating to the humanitarian situation in the Strip," Reuters quoted Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani as saying.
He added Italy was committed "to do everything possible to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian population in Gaza."
The Food for Gaza initiative is led by Italy together with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Food program (WFP) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
On Wednesday, the US military announced that its mission to install and operate a temporary, floating pier off the coast of Gaza was complete, formally ending an effort to bring humanitarian aid to Palestinians.
Italy said in May it would allocate 30 million euros ($32.8 million) in the Food for Gaza plan, as it resumed funding for the United Nations' Palestinian relief organization UNRWA.

UNRWA faced criticism over allegations that some of its staff were involved in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel that triggered the Gaza war.