Prisoners Suffer Neglect Amidst Lebanon’s Economic Crisis
The Story
The impact of Lebanon’s economic woes, which has been on since 2019, has gotten to its prison inmates.
What about them?
The country’s economic crisis, which was made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic and a 2020 Beirut port explosion that left scores of casualties, has left citizens struggling to survive as they’re faced with a massive currency depreciation, shortages of fuel, medicines and electricity.
How about the prisoners?
With the currency losing about 90% of its value, Lebanese purchasing power has been seriously affected and can hardly meet needs like food or sanitary items, as fuel shortages have also resulted in widespread power outage. Prisons are overcrowded and their inmates have no access to medical care, unless they can pay for it privately.
With the prisons significantly overcrowded, authorities can no longer provide for the inmates, who are now left to, largely, cater to their own needs. Speaking on the subject, Majed Al Ayoubi, the head of Central Prisons, admitted that the country’s economic crisis is affecting all aspects of the lives of the prisoners, including health care. Sadly, there’s no end in sight to the country’s woes.
