Roumieh Prison

Roumieh prison (Arabic: سجن رومية‎) is the largest and most notorious prison in Lebanon, located in Roumieh, Matn district. It was designed to hold 1,050 inmates, though as of 2017 is extremely overcrowded and at about 300% capacity; this represents nearly half the prisoners in Lebanon.[1] Roumieh Prison holds convicted prisoners and prisoners on remand. It holds juveniles, women and men, all in separate sections.[2]

Although regarded as one of the best correctional facilities in Lebanon, Roumieh prison still lacks the minimum requirements to meet United Nations standards.[3]

On April 7, 2011, a mutiny erupted in a wing of the prison and prisoners armed with makeshift knives held five prison guards as hostages. Security officials stated that the initial protest was fueled by both the unfair imprisonment of a detainee found innocent by the Lebanese justice as well as the poor conditions of detention. The mutiny was contained after security forces reached a compromise with the detainees.[4]