Lebanon Detainees Stuck In Limbo As Judges' Strike Drags On

Taxi driver Youssef Daher has languished for months in prison without charge, one of scores stuck after Lebanese judges launched an open-ended strike in August to demand better wages in a collapsed economy

Beirut, Dec 8 (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 8th Dec, 2022 ) :Taxi driver Youssef Daher has languished for months in prison without charge, one of scores stuck after Lebanese judges launched an open-ended strike in August to demand better wages in a collapsed economy.

Judges have suspended their work as rampant inflation eats away at their salaries, paralysing the judiciary and leaving detainees in limbo -- the latest outcome of Lebanon's years-long financial crisis.

From his jail cell in the northern city of Tripoli, Daher sends daily messages to his lawyer asking him whether judges have ended what is already the longest strike for their profession in Lebanese history.

"My family lost their sole breadwinner and must now rely on aid to survive," he told AFP.

Daher has not seen his wife and three children since he was arrested eight months ago because they cannot afford transportation to get to the prison, he said.

Security forces arrested Daher after he gave a ride to a passenger accused of kidnapping -- unbeknownst to him, he said.

Authorities did not press charges against Daher after questioning, so his lawyer requested his release. Then judges began their strike.

His request has been pending ever since.

Bureaucracy and rampant corruption have long delayed verdicts and judicial proceedings in Lebanon, where 8,000 people are estimated to be jailed, most of them awaiting a verdict.

But now, underfunded public institutions have taken a hit after the country's economy went into free-fall in 2019, with basic state services like renewing passports or completing a real estate transaction often taking months to complete.