Baroud Orders Detailed Probe into Roumieh Events, Including Death of 2 Inmates

Caretaker Interior Minister Ziad Baroud on Wednesday noted that security forces “strived throughout four days to contain the situation in the Roumieh prison without any bloodshed.”

In an interview with OTV, Baroud added that he has asked Internal Security Forces chief Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi to open a probe into the death of two inmates, noting that “there will be a detailed probe and drastic measures.”

The minister stressed that “prison conditions would improve when all parties shoulder their responsibilities.”

Two inmates died when security forces stormed Roumieh prison to quell a mutiny by the prisoners and secure the release of several guards, security officials said Wednesday.

Baroud denied that three inmates were killed in the operation, stressing that “the official report mentions two victims.”

Security officials said one of the inmates died when a sonic bomb he grabbed from a policeman detonated in his hand. They said the other inmate died of a heart attack during the raid late Tuesday.

The assault freed three or four guards who had been taken hostage by the prisoners; at least six inmates were injured.

“We don’t mind that a judicial committee be formed to investigate everything that has happened at Roumieh prison,” Baroud said, adding that he supports anything that leads to “clear answers.”

Asked about possible political exploitation by certain parties of the events at the prison, Baroud said “there are no clear indications” in that regard, stressing that he will continue to perform his duties to the fullest potential.

The rioting started on Saturday by prisoners demanding improved conditions. They later set a fire inside one of the buildings.

The riot was over on Wednesday and security forces and the army's special forces are now in control of the prison.

But the families of inmates who sought to enter the prison to visit their loved ones pelted security forces with stones and threw empty glass bottles at them.

They also blocked the main road and shouted slogans calling for an amnesty and improvement of prison conditions.

Roumieh was originally built to accommodate 1,500 prisoners but its population has swelled to as many as 4,000, making conditions intolerable, authorities say.

Of the 3,700 prisoners currently held there, a mere 721 have been tried and convicted. The remainder have been awaiting trial, some for months or even years.