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The Lebanese Internal Security Forces said – in a statement – that 5 prisoners died on Saturday, when a car in which they were traveling collided with a tree, after the incident in which more than 60 prisoners escaped from a prison on the outskirts of the Lebanese capital, Beirut.
He added that a “traffic accident” occurred, and that a car hit a tree. Several escaped prisoners were found to be on board after their driver was robbed. He said the accident resulted in the death of 5 and an injury that is being treated at a hospital.
The Internal Security Forces confirmed in their statement that “15 of them were detained, while 4 surrendered.” While the statement did not indicate how 69 prisoners escaped, a security source said that the facility they escaped from is intended for the detention of those awaiting trial, and that it belongs to Baabda prison, near Beirut.
A judicial source said that the fugitives managed to break the strict security measures, “remove the iron doors of the glass and the entrance to the Palace of Justice” in the Baabda region, and escape in the early hours of Saturday.
The Lebanese presidency announced on Twitter that the Minister of the Interior in the interim government had informed President Michel Aoun of the incident of the prisoner’s escape, and that the president had ordered to intensify the search and investigation operations of the incident.
Strict measures
The security forces impose strict measures in and around the Baabda region, including the vicinity of the presidential palace.
The Mount Lebanon appeals prosecutor, Judge Ghada Aoun, confirmed to the French Press Agency that an “immediate investigation” had been opened into the incident and did not rule out “the possibility of collusion between the escaped prisoners and the guards assigned to protect their cells “.
Several families of prisoners and detainees gathered in the vicinity of the Baabda Palace of Justice to check the fate of their relatives.
“My son was among the fugitives, but I returned him and handed him over to the state after I returned home,” said Joumana Berjawi, mother of a 22-year-old boy who was arrested 6 months ago for attempted murder.
She added: “They told me they broke the prison doors and fled. It has nothing to do with it, do what the young people asked and fled with them.”
In April, Amnesty International said that riots broke out inside Lebanese prisons and that families of prisoners had organized sit-ins to demand the release of their relatives for fear of the spread of COVID-19 in overcrowded prisons.
The organization added that while the Lebanese government has taken various measures, including the release of some prisoners, the authorities should prioritize the release of prisoners who have served their sentences and expedite the review of detainee cases before their trial.
Total closure measures are currently being applied in the country until the end of this month, to reduce the increase in the number of Corona infections.
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