BEIRUT: Volunteers from the Joy of Giving organization (Farah al-Ata) have launched an ambitious project to upgrade facilities at the Tibnin prison complex in Lebanon’s southern city of Bint Jbeil. During a news conference held at the prison on Friday, Joy of Giving spokeswoman Therese Aoun told reporters that restoration works aimed to better the living conditions of prisoners, so as to prevent the spread of diseases.
“The renovation works aim to turn the prison from a place short on air and light to a facility that safeguards human needs,” Aoun said.
Aoun also thanked the Interior Ministry for its support, adding that restoration works were in cooperation with the Internal Security Forces.
Tibnin prison consists of five rooms housing 61 prisoners. Forty of them live in the prison’s largest cell, covering a surface area of 40 square meters while three to four detainees occupy individual cells as small as 2.5 meters by 1.5 meters.
The prison complex also suffers from frequent power cuts, poor lighting and aeration, high levels of humidity and a lack of sufficient water supplies.
Tania Ayoub, who headed the team of 32 volunteers in charge of the restoration operation, said the 61 prisoners were moved to jails in Jezzine, Tyre and Nabatieh prior to the renovation of the facility.
Ayoub added that the building lacked rudimentaries like toilets and hot water.
“When we came in for the first time, we were surprised by the foul odors, high humidity and small restrooms in each cell,” Ayoub said.
Ayoub noted the lack of beds and closets, leaving the prisoners to make “lockers” out of cardboard boxes.
Tackling this issue, Ayoub announced that the organization agreed with Interior Security Forces personnel that more prisoners would not be housed in the complex if there was an insufficient number of beds.
Ayoub added that as part of the renovation works two more rooms were to be added to the prison, along with more seating in the yard, and safe supplies of drinking water for each cell.
As for the aeration issue, widening windows was being opposed by prison officials, who said they feared for their safety as the prisoners could take advantage of the improvements to escape.
Melhem Khalef, a lawyer and activist with the Joy of Giving, noted that the prison’s air vents were clogged with dust, while sewage water had ended up beneath one of the cell’s floors