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Spread of Covid-19 in Lebanese Prison Renews Calls for General Amnesty

Inmates produce protective face masks, as part of the preventive measures against the spread of the coronavirus, inside Roumieh prison, Lebanon, in this handout received by Reuters on April 6, 2020. (Reuters)
Inmates produce protective face masks, as part of the preventive measures against the spread of the coronavirus, inside Roumieh prison, Lebanon, in this handout received by Reuters on April 6, 2020. (Reuters)
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Spread of Covid-19 in Lebanese Prison Renews Calls for General Amnesty

Inmates produce protective face masks, as part of the preventive measures against the spread of the coronavirus, inside Roumieh prison, Lebanon, in this handout received by Reuters on April 6, 2020. (Reuters)
Inmates produce protective face masks, as part of the preventive measures against the spread of the coronavirus, inside Roumieh prison, Lebanon, in this handout received by Reuters on April 6, 2020. (Reuters)

The announcement of cases of Covid-19 infections among prisoners and soldiers in Roumieh prison has renewed calls for a general amnesty law to limit the spread of the virus.

Families of prisoners held a sit-in on Monday in front of the Justice Palace in Beirut, amid tight security measures, demanding the issuance of a general amnesty for their loved ones and expressing fear of the increasing number of infections, the National News Agency (NNA) reported.

It added that a delegation of the families met with the minister of Justice in the caretaker government, Marie-Claude Najem, to present their demands.

In a statement, a legal monitor said that the opportunity “is still available today, before it is too late, to save prisoners’ lives from the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic.”

The human rights body demanded legal and procedural measures to protect the prisoners.

“Today, with the outbreak of the epidemic being exposed and for social and humanitarian reasons… there is a need to reaffirm the necessity of taking the following steps: the commitment of the judiciary to apply literally the text of Article 108 of the Code of Criminal Procedure upon the expiration of the period of preventive detention, and not to allow the continuation of diligence in the course of the text, in addition to the necessity to mention the date of arrest on the relevant warrants, in order to facilitate the decision of release requests.”

The legal monitor stressed the need to adopt other measures, including “replacing preventive detention cases with judicial control…in accordance with the text of Article 111 of the New Procedures Code…”

“It is imperative to unite the efforts of workers in the justice sector and those interested in human rights issues to secure a just humanitarian solution for prisoners,” said the coordinator of the legal monitor, lawyer Jad Tohme.

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Arab World

Israel Urges All Vessels to Evacuate South Lebanon Maritime Area up to Tyre

Smoke rises following Israeli bombardment on the village of Qlaile as pictured from nearby Tyre in southern Lebanon on April 7, 2026. (AFP)
Smoke rises following Israeli bombardment on the village of Qlaile as pictured from nearby Tyre in southern Lebanon on April 7, 2026. (AFP)
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Israel Urges All Vessels to Evacuate South Lebanon Maritime Area up to Tyre

Smoke rises following Israeli bombardment on the village of Qlaile as pictured from nearby Tyre in southern Lebanon on April 7, 2026. (AFP)
Smoke rises following Israeli bombardment on the village of Qlaile as pictured from nearby Tyre in southern Lebanon on April 7, 2026. (AFP)

The Israeli military on Tuesday urged all vessels in the maritime zone off the coast of southern Lebanon to immediately head north of the city of Tyre, warning that it would operate in the area.

"Hezbollah's activities expose naval vessels in the maritime area between Tyre and Ras al-Naqoura to danger, which compels the Israeli army to take action against it in the maritime domain," the military's Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee posted on X.

"To ensure your safety, all anchored or sailing naval vessels in the specified maritime area shown on the navigation map must immediately proceed north of the Tyre area," he added.

Arab World

Iraq’s Kataib Hezbollah Says It Will Release American Journalist Shelly Kittleson

US journalist Shelly Kittleson poses for a picture in Baghdad on March 31, 2026. (AFP)
US journalist Shelly Kittleson poses for a picture in Baghdad on March 31, 2026. (AFP)
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Iraq’s Kataib Hezbollah Says It Will Release American Journalist Shelly Kittleson

US journalist Shelly Kittleson poses for a picture in Baghdad on March 31, 2026. (AFP)
US journalist Shelly Kittleson poses for a picture in Baghdad on March 31, 2026. (AFP)

The Iran-backed Iraqi Kataib Hezbollah said in a statement on Tuesday that it will release American journalist Shelly Kittleson, who was kidnapped from a Baghdad streetcorner last week.

The group said its decision came “in appreciation of the patriotic stances of the outgoing prime minister," Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, without giving more details. It added that “this initiative will not be repeated in the future.” The statement added that Kittleson must “leave the country immediately” upon her release.

Kataib Hezbollah had not previously acknowledged that it was the one responsible for Kittleson’s abduction, although both US and Iraqi officials had pointed fingers at the group.

Two officials within the faction, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly, told The Associated Press that in exchange for freeing Kittleson, several members of the group who had previously been detained by Iraqi authorities would be released.

Kittleson, 49, a freelance journalist, had lived abroad for years before the kidnapping, using Rome as her base for a time and building a respected journalism career across the Middle East, particularly in Iraq and Syria. Like many freelancers, she often worked on a shoestring budget and without the protections afforded by large news organizations to staff.

She had entered Iraq again shortly before her abduction. US officials have said that they warned her multiple times of threats against her, but that she did not want to leave.

Iraqi officials have said that two cars were involved in the kidnapping, one of which crashed while being pursued near the town of al-Haswa in Babil province, southwest of Baghdad. The journalist was then transferred to a second car that fled the scene.

Three Iraqi officials said earlier Tuesday that attempts to negotiate her release had run into obstacles.

The two Iraqi security officials and one official from the pro-Iran Coordination Framework political bloc spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the sensitive case publicly.

One of the security officials said that an official with the Popular Mobilization Forces had been tasked with communicating with the abductors to secure Kittleson’s release but had run into difficulties in communicating with the Kataib Hezbollah leadership.

“The primary challenge is that the leaders of the Kataib militia — specifically, the commanders of the battalions — are nowhere to be found. No one knows their whereabouts, and the process of establishing contact with them is extremely complex,” they said. “These leaders have gone underground, maintaining no active lines of communication, out of fear of being targeted.”

The political official said a message had been sent to the Kataib leadership to determine their demands in exchange for releasing the kidnapped journalist. Iraqi authorities were willing to release six Kataib Hezbollah members who are currently detained, most of them in connection with attacks on a US base in Syria, they said.

The second security official said that to further complicate matters, the Iraqi official in charge of the case had not yet received the go-ahead from US officials to proceed with negotiations.

US officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The State Department previously said that it is working with the FBI to secure Kittleson's release.

Journalist advocacy groups had urged the US government to formally designate Kittleson a hostage, or “wrongful detainee,” a designation that triggers an elevated level of response.

Arab World

Israel Military Says Completed Forward Deployment in South Lebanon

An Israeli Air Force F-15D Eagle fighter aircraft flies over the area of Marjeyoun in southern Lebanon on April 7, 2026. (AFP)
An Israeli Air Force F-15D Eagle fighter aircraft flies over the area of Marjeyoun in southern Lebanon on April 7, 2026. (AFP)
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Israel Military Says Completed Forward Deployment in South Lebanon

An Israeli Air Force F-15D Eagle fighter aircraft flies over the area of Marjeyoun in southern Lebanon on April 7, 2026. (AFP)
An Israeli Air Force F-15D Eagle fighter aircraft flies over the area of Marjeyoun in southern Lebanon on April 7, 2026. (AFP)

The Israeli military said on Tuesday it had completed the deployment of ground troops along a "defense line" in southern Lebanon, where it is fighting Iran-backed Hezbollah.

The military has not given any geographical details on the furthest point to which its soldiers have advanced into Lebanese territory.

Israeli media reported that the military did not intend at this stage to push troops deeper than around 20 kilometers (12 miles) north of the Israel-Lebanon border.

"At this stage, soldiers have completed their deployment along the anti-tank missile defense line and continue to operate in the area in order to strengthen the forward defensive posture and remove threats to the residents and communities of northern Israel," a military statement said.

Defense minister Israel Katz has said on several occasions in recent weeks that Israel intends to establish a "security zone" in southern Lebanon extending to the Litani river, which flows as much as 30 kilometers from the Israel-Lebanon border, in order to prevent rocket, drone or missile fire at northern Israeli communities.

The Israeli daily Yediot Aharonot reported that the military was expected to present to the government "an operational plan for controlling the first line of (Lebanese) villages as a deep security zone up to the anti-tank line".

Israeli newspaper Haaretz, citing military sources, reported that the military was "preparing to boost its forces in southern Lebanon, but there are currently no plans to advance deeper into the country".

"The sources said the forces have reached what has been defined as the 'front line' outlined in the approved operational plans," Haaretz reported, adding that "this line includes southern villages located roughly 10 kilometers from the Litani River, an area under Israeli military control".

Haaretz reported that the current deployment was aimed at preventing anti-tank missile fire on northern Israeli communities.

These anti-tank missiles have an estimated range of around 10 kilometers.