Lebanon’s judiciary is preparing to resume courtroom operations inside the country’s largest prison, Roumieh, in a bid to ease severe overcrowding and fast-track trials for hundreds of detainees, many of whom have spent years in pretrial detention without a hearing.

A senior judicial source confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat that the Higher Judicial Council has begun coordinating with specialized courts to relocate hearings to a courtroom located within Roumieh Prison and to establish a weekly trial schedule. The move comes amid mounting fears of unrest among inmates, whose frustration has grown over delayed legal proceedings, compounded by logistical and security challenges that hinder their transfer to courthouses.

Lebanese authorities have turned to what they see as the most practical short-term solution to avert a potential crisis inside the overcrowded facility: reactivating the largely unused courtroom inside the prison to expedite legal proceedings.

Justice Minister Adel Nassar and Interior Minister Ahmed Al-Hajjar jointly announced the plan last week, pledging that all procedures would respect human rights standards and legal safeguards. The two ministers, along with Higher Judicial Council President Judge Suhail Abboud and Public Prosecutor Judge Jamal Hajjar, held a full-day meeting to lay out an operational roadmap for restarting hearings inside the facility.

The courtroom at Roumieh was originally established in 2019 by the Justice Ministry to prosecute Islamist detainees, particularly those accused of involvement in the 2007 battle of Nahr al-Bared — a three-month conflict between the Lebanese Army and armed militants in northern Lebanon. At the time, authorities opted to hold court sessions inside the prison to avoid the security risks of transporting high-risk defendants to Beirut’s main courthouse.

Built in the early 1960s to accommodate around 1,500 inmates, Roumieh Prison today holds more than 4,000 prisoners and detainees — nearly triple its intended capacity.

“The situation in Roumieh is extremely dire. It cannot continue this way,” the judicial source told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The source added that the judiciary is now coordinating with criminal courts and investigative judges to begin holding sessions inside the prison once again. “Some hearings were held in Roumieh during the COVID-19 pandemic, and most of the relevant cases fall under the jurisdiction of the Criminal Court at the Baabda Justice Palace,” he said.

The plan has drawn cautious responses from the legal community. Beirut Bar Association President Fadi Masri expressed skepticism about reviving in-prison court sessions, citing past issues where lawyers faced invasive security checks, were denied vehicle access, and struggled to reach the courtroom.

“Lawyers prefer that hearings be held in proper courthouses, not in prisons — especially since many attorneys are scheduled to attend multiple sessions in different locations on the same day,” Masri said in a statement.

Still, he acknowledged the urgency of the situation. “We understand the concerns surrounding overcrowding and the potential for unrest inside Roumieh,” he said. “We’ve held three meetings — at the Bar Association, the Justice Ministry, and the Interior Ministry — and stressed the need to respect lawyers, allow them access by car, and prevent inappropriate search procedures.”

Masri emphasized that the dignity afforded to judges must also apply to lawyers, who serve as essential defenders of detainees’ rights. “Just as the judiciary’s integrity must be protected, so too must the role of lawyers in upholding human rights and ensuring justice,” he said.