Over 400 Kyrgyz prisoners stitch up their mouths
January 24th, 2012 - 5:12 pm ICT by IANS ( Leave a comment )Bishkek, Jan 24 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Over 400 Kyrgyz prisoners stitched up their mouths Tuesday as part of a nationwide hunger strike that has spread throughout the country’s pre-trial detention facilities, Kyrgyz human rights ombudsman Tursunbek Akun said.
The protest follows a riot in mid-January during a routine cell check in one of Bishkek’s pre-trial detention centres, when inmates started a fire and some slashed their wrists, protesting violence from the prison staff and visitor restrictions.
Soon after the first protest, the rest of the country’s penitentiary facilities joined in, declaring a nationwide hunger strike.
“Today the prisoners have toughened their protest. It will not lead to anything good, the situation needs to be urgently solved,” Akun said.
According to Kyrgyz Federal Penitentiary Service, only 260 prisoners out of more than 1,300 are taking food.
–IANS/RIA Novosti
rd/dg
- Six killed, 100 injured in Kyrgyzstan clashes - Apr 07, 2010
- Russia owes rent on military bases: Kyrgyz president - Dec 29, 2011
- Kyrgyzstan wants US out of Manas airbase in 2014 - Feb 21, 2012
- Drug traffickers held carrying heroin in stomach - Dec 27, 2011
- Italian cruise ship captain detained - Jan 15, 2012
- Egypt frees 14 Palestinian prisoners - Apr 06, 2011
- New Kyrgyz president calls for closure of US airbase - Nov 01, 2011
- IMF ex-head Strauss-Kahn pleads not guilty - Jun 06, 2011
- Bahrain protesters call for strike to oust government - Feb 24, 2011
- Mubarak to be transferred to Cairo for trial - Aug 03, 2011
- Mubarak to go on trial over protester shootings - May 25, 2011
- Egypt's military council set to ban strikes - Feb 14, 2011
- Kyrgyz PM Atambayev set to win presidential poll - Oct 31, 2011
- Crimes by women increase in Russia - Apr 07, 2010
- Kyrgyzstan extends state of emergency to June 25 - Jun 20, 2010
Tags: detention centres, detention facilities, dg, human rights ombudsman, hunger strike, inmates, jan 24, kyrgyz, mouths, penitentiary, prison staff, prisoners, protest, ria novosti, riot, violence
