"More than 8,000 prisoners are in Lebanese prisons, with 20.9% being sentenced, meaning that 79.1% of those in Lebanese prisons are unsentenced," announced Bassam Mawlawi, the Minister of Interior and Municipalities in the caretaker government, reflecting the dire situation in the prisons, whether regarding the lack of basic necessities for the lives of inmates or the overcrowding. Some statistics indicate that prison capacity exceeds 150%, with the central prison in Roumieh, which can accommodate a maximum of 1,500 inmates, currently housing over 3,700 prisoners living in dire conditions.
While Mawlawi urged judges to "apply Article 108 of the Code of Criminal Procedure," which, according to the Ministry of Interior's statistics, "would release 1,000 detainees from prisons," organizations concerned with prisons and inmates are calling for the deportation of foreigners to also alleviate overcrowding.
Judiciary sources explain through "Akhbar Al-Yawm" agency that Article 108 specifies the maximum period for pre-trial detention, which is two months renewable once for misdemeanants and six months, also renewable once for felons, except in cases of murder, drugs, or when detained before an investigative judge, where there is no specified time limit. After these periods, the detainee must be released by the competent judicial authority, either the investigative judge or the prosecution committee, depending on where they are detained, provided they have no criminal record or have not been sentenced previously.
The sources called for a census of the prison situation to determine the number of detainees eligible for release and the number of sentenced prisoners to take appropriate action. Thus, the application of Article 108 provisions could help alleviate overcrowding. In response to a question, the sources clarify that the legislator, when drafting Article 108, implicitly assumed that misdemeanor trials should conclude within four months and felony trials within a year, but the reality differs from the legislator's intentions: sometimes the law itself does not facilitate the right to request deferments and present formal defenses, in addition to delays in bringing detainees to court. Moreover, some defense lawyers may procrastinate to benefit from release under Article 108, meaning they obstruct the trial process.
On another note, the sources continue: the court might have another consideration as it fears the flight of some detainees, as ruling in absentia does not provide any right or justice to the plaintiff, and it can be said that "the court thinks in the spirit of justice" to issue the ruling during the period of detention, meaning the detainee should remain in custody. It is noteworthy that limited detention without punishment could lead to repeated offenses. While they consider that the judge's margin of discretion should be narrowed, and the judge should respond to the legislator’s intent in this article, the sources indicate that there are few judges compared to thousands of cases.
Regarding deportation, the sources emphasize that deportation cannot be discussed until the case reaches court, a ruling is issued, and the penalty is fully served, clarifying that the principle of executing the sentence is linked to sovereignty. When the Lebanese judiciary issues a ruling against a person, the sentence must be carried out in Lebanon, not in any other country, even if there are relevant bilateral agreements between Lebanon and another country. They add that the prisoner will be deported later if the ruling includes such a decision, but they lament that the relevant authorities for deportation do not execute it due to an inability to pay for travel tickets! They conclude that for Syrian prisoners, there is a "special situation," as if the General Security wishes to deport them, political factors come into play, and organizations of the United Nations intervene to prevent deportation under the pretext of danger to their lives in Syria.
