Key Findings:
- Prisons should not be seen as separate from the communities from which their inmates are drawn.
- Islamists can circumvent the Lebanese criminal justice system using wasta, or personal connections.
- Many prisoners detained for terrorism offences claim to have been the victims of mistreatment and torture.
- When the authorities have left the prisoners to their own devices, Islamists have filled the vacuum and self-governed in prison.
- Inmates have a strong feeling of injustice toward the Lebanese authorities, regardless of the level of their offending or status within the Islamist scene.
- Prison radicalisation is not a foregone conclusion. Even in Roumieh, disengagement is possible.