Observers report that there are no formal criteria for cell assignment. The person’s legal status, type of offence committed, or any special needs are reportedly not considered. People are generally mixed.

Prisoners are reportedly assigned to cells based on their faith. A prisoner explains, “When I arrived, they looked at my papers and put me with the Shiites. That’s how it works. Christian? Go over there. Sunni, over there; Shiite, over there”. He also noted that prisoners must “buy their spot”: otherwise, they sleep on the floor outside of the cells.

A lawyer may ask the authorities to meet with his client at any time. The day and time of the visits are determined by the prison service. Meetings are limited to 15 minutes, excluding persons in pre-trial detention.

The CLDH found that many lawyers are denied access to their clients. It reported that meetings between prisoners and lawyers often take place in the director’s office, given that there are no suitable meeting rooms. The rules of procedure state that these visits can take place “without the presence of a guard at the request of the defendant or the lawyer”. The confidentiality of these discussions is not always respected.¹

There are allegations of torture, violence, and ill-treatment. In 2014, the UN Committee against Torture found reports of corporal punishment by prison staff. It also noted “very harsh detention conditions in disciplinary cells”. Prisoners denounced the use of torture during interrogations and arrests. The Committee considered that “torture is and has been systematically practised in Lebanon, particularly in the context of investigations and to obtain confessions”. Allegations of torture reported to the examining magistrate were not investigated. Prisoners claimed that they did not have access to a lawyer during their interrogation. The presence of a lawyer would discourage the commission of acts of torture. Very few prisoners are aware that they can request medical examinations. At Baabda Women’s Prison, medical examinations revealed clear signs of torture, including sexual violence and electric shocks to the feet. In the same report, the Committee noted a “widespread and manifest practice of torture and ill-treatment of suspects in detention, including persons arrested for crimes against State security and other serious offences, as well as foreigners, particularly Syrians and Palestinians, and individuals apprehended in police operations, notably low-income persons arrested for petty crime”.¹ In 2020, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention of the UN Human Rights Committee found that Hassan Al-Dika was tortured while in the custody of the FSI General Directorate and then again during his two weeks in Roumieh Prison. No investigation into these acts of torture was launched following their report. Mr Al-Dika was refused surgery. He died a month later. In its 2010 report, the CLDH stated that torture is still a “common practice” in detention. It is reportedly carried out by members of the FSI.² Human Rights Watch reported cases of arbitrary detention and torture committed against 35 persons, including two minors, in 2021. In March 2021, Amnesty International denounced the use of torture against 26 Syrian prisoners, including four minors, who were suspected of terrorism.

In 2023, 14 members of the Internal Security Forces were subject to an internal disciplinary action for “beating and blackmailing” people in custody, as reported by the Ministry of the Interior.

In 2016, the UN Committee against Torture noted that medical personnel are trained in the Istanbul Protocol.¹ In 2015, forensic doctors were trained at the Institute of Judicial Studies to effectively investigate and document cases of torture.² A memorandum of understanding was signed between the Ministry of Justice and the NGO RESTART to restructure the forensic service in light of this protocol.³

Prisoners file complaints against the prison service.

On 29 April 2022, Lebanon’s National Committee for the Prevention of Torture (NHRC-CPT) visited the Military Police Prison in Rihanieh. It noted the presence of a box where prisoners could submit complaints against officers, as well as a template questionnaire that prisoners could fill in.[^NHRCc] [^NHRCc]: National Human Right Commission including the Committee for the Prevention of Torture (NHRC-CPT) / Lebanon’s National CPT – Report to the UNSPT, 2022, p. 19

Prisons are visited by other monitoring mechanisms and authorised persons.

• The Prisons Department of the Ministry of Justice carries out unannounced and periodic visits to examine the conditions of detention. Based on these visits, detailed reports and recommendations are submitted to the Director General of the Ministry of Justice before being forwarded to the relevant authorities.¹
• The General Directorate of Public Security established an Inspection Commission to visit places of detention to verify the implementation of the Convention against Torture and prepare reports thereon in the event that violations are discovered.²
• Lawyers are allowed to visit prisons. In December 2019, the Beirut Bar Association sent roughly 500 lawyers to visit every prison in Lebanon, on the initiative of the President of the Bar. Their aim was to identify prisoners without lawyers and assess the conditions of detention.
• Delegates of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have been allowed to visit prisons since 2002. The visits have been ongoing since a protocol was signed between the ICRC and the Lebanese authorities in 2007.³ The ICRC reports its findings to the FSI Directorate General and assists in the restoration and renovation of facilities.⁴ The ICRC is the only body authorised to visit Ministry of Defence prisons. The findings of these visits are confidential.⁵

The examining magistrate, the correctional magistrate, the public prosecutor of the Court of Appeal, or the financial public prosecutor are required, in principle, to visit detention facilities every month (Article 15 of the Internal Prison Regulations and Article 402 of the Code of Criminal Procedure). Presidents of criminal courts must visit police custody facilities and prisons every three months. The General Prosecutor of the Court of Appeal, the judge appointed by the Minister of Justice, and the General Prosecutors of the lower courts have the right to inspect prisons, check the legality of arrests and releases, consult prisoner records, and send feedback to the Minister of Internal Affairs. Civil society organisations have reported that these regulations are not followed or used.⁶

Decisions on granting sentence adjustments are made by the judicial commissions of each governorate (the eight administrative divisions of the country).¹ The law states that each commission is composed of “a judge, appointed by the Minister of Justice, after approval of the Superior Council of Magistracy; the governor of the central prison; the governor of the prison where the person in question is detained; two doctors, one of whom must be the prison doctor; a psychiatrist appointed by the Minister of Justice; and, a social worker appointed by the Minister of Justice” (Article 2, Law n°463/2002). The commission is obliged to prepare a detailed and substantiated proposal in the first half of June and the first half of December of each year, consolidating all requests for sentence adjustment. The commission is required to consider the prisoners’ behaviour and their psychological, medical, and social condition (article 3, law n°463/2002)².

A pardon or suspension of sentence may be granted to “convicted persons suffering from blindness, hemiplegia, or incurable diseases, as well as the very old or those suffering from a disability that renders them unfit for any work. A pardon or suspension of sentence may also be granted to persons with many children who are minors and have no provider” (Article 49 of Decree No. 14310). These cases must be documented and reported by the prison governor.[^grâce] Persons sentenced to death may request a presidential pardon (Articles 391 and 392 of the Code of Criminal Procedure). The request may be submitted directly to the President of the Republic or via the Ministry of Justice in the form of a petition signed by the convicted person, their lawyer, or a family member. A pardon may also be granted to persons sentenced to other types of punishment (Article 396 of the Code of Criminal Procedure). Applications are reviewed by a three-member commission of the Supreme Judicial Council.

Convictions are often accompanied by a fine. Failure to pay can result in additional days in detention. The number of prisoners affected and the number of fines are not reported by the government.