(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Leaked videos showing the torture of Islamist inmates has sparked a political controversy in Lebanon, forcing Lebanese politicians to respond to allegations of ill-treatment in the country’s notorious Roumieh prison.
The graphic videos show at least two guards repeatedly striking shirtless prisoners seated on the floor with their hands behind their backs. Some had been stripped down to their underwear and beaten with a green hose, according to videos.
Other clips show a second guard taunting and insulting a bearded detainee while repeatedly hitting him. The detainee can be heard begging for mercy, and later kicked in the face.
One guard can be heard shouting: “Lower your voice or I’ll put your eyes out.”
Machnouk said the two guards shown in the video have been arrested, pending an investigation by Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi’s office. Machnouk vowed to bring the guards to justice without “political cover” for anyone.
According to The Daily Star, five total police officers were arrested, including the two involved in the beatings, two who knew about the beatings but never came forward, and one who filmed the incidents.
Machnouk blamed past governments for the poor conditions at the Roumieh prison, adding that he only “inherited” the problems.
“I am responsible for the human rights of all prisoners, regardless of their (ideological) persuasion,” Machnouk said. “I have inherited that prison, these conditions, and those prisoners.”
Machnouk ordered the clearing of Roumieh’s Block B in January, after years of reported overcrowding which allegedly served as a meeting point for militants to plot attacks.
Rifi said the behavior in the video was a “crime against the nation and humanity” and pledged to carry out a full investigation. He also accused Hezbollah of leaking the videos, adding that “only Hezbollah had access to some of them,” according to The Daily Star.
“This crime cannot go unpunished,” Rifi said. “I pledge to pursue the investigation until the last perpetrator is in custody.”
According to Al-Arabiya, the families of prisoners allege that injuries included blindness, broken bones, and dislocated shoulders. Lebanese officials said they could not comment on specific injuries in recent press conferences.
The leader of Lebanon’s Progressive Socialist Party, Walid Jumblatt, took to Twitter to denounce the videos, comparing them to “a scene from a Syrian prison.”
According to Middle East Monitor, three of the prisoners in the videos have been identified as Sheikh Omar Atrash from the northeastern border town of Arsal, Qatibah Al-As’ad from the Lebanese border area of Wadi Khaled, and Wael Al-Samad from the Dinnieh town of Bakhoun in north Lebanon.
Prisoners began rioting on June 23, demanding Wi-Fi connection and access to mobile phones, among a list of other requests for improved conditions.
Meanwhile, United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon Sigrid Kaag expressed concern over the reported human rights violations in Roumieh prison, adding that Lebanon’s government has previously worked to “end impunity.”
Kaag urged Lebanon to implement recommendations by the U.N. Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture in 2010 and by the U.N. Committee Against Torture in 2014.
WARNING: The following video may be disturbing to some viewers.