In the midst of Lebanon’s ongoing economic crisis, the country’s prison inmates find themselves facing dire conditions, with food shortages becoming a pressing concern.
For individuals like Rabea, a minor drug offender from Tripoli, his incarceration in Qubbah Prison, a local facility, came with certain expectations. The overcrowded prison was already housing numerous residents from his neighborhood, and he was well aware of the lengthy delays in seeing a judge. Additionally, he had heard about the cramped cells where 60 detainees took turns sleeping on the floor, the prevalence of gangs, and the frequent confrontations.
However, what Rabea did not anticipate was that the situation would deteriorate even further. In 2019, halfway through his sentence, Lebanon’s economy spiraled into a state of collapse. This economic crisis, characterized by a nearly 40% contraction in the country’s GDP, wreaked havoc on its prison system. In this dire environment, the availability of both food and medical supplies became increasingly scarce, contributing to a surge in violence within prisons that are now operating at a staggering 323% over capacity.
