BEIRUT: Head of the parliamentary Human Rights committee MP Michel Moussa warned Tuesday of the deteriorating situation in Lebanese prisons.

In a statement, Moussa said it “is becoming worse and this affects the state’s power.” He expressed his regret that “things have reached a point where a murder was committed by inmates,” referring to the eight Fatah al-Islam prisoners charged Friday with the premeditated killing of fellow inmate Ghassan Qindaqli. The Palestinian was found hanging in his cell in Roumieh prison’s Bloc B on Jan. 18.

“The human rights committees have been reiterating the same concerns since the 1990s, however the situation inside the prisons hasn’t improved, only declined,” Moussa added, stressing that “the prisons have become time bombs.”

He pointed out that most of the decisions taken by the Cabinet and relevant ministries to improve the situation have not been implemented. Moussa called on the Cabinet to follow up on the issue in a “serious, accurate and detailed way to reach a solution.”