06 June 2020, 11:15
Inmates of in Tskhinvali injure themselves in protest
At least 6 inmates of the Tskhinvali colony were taken to hospital with wounds after a conflict with the administration. Their relatives assert that inmates were beaten up. The authorities of South Ossetia insist that the incident was caused by regime violations by the inmates.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on September 27, 2019, colony inmates went on a hunger strike in protest against the tightening of the rules for the transfer of foodstuff parcels. The colony was visited by MPs, who achieved improvements of custody conditions. However, inmates' relatives stated that after the parliamentarians' visit, law enforcers beat up six inmates.
The incident in the Tskhinvali colony became at least the third one in three years. In July 2017, prisoners were on a hunger strike for about a week, demanding better custody conditions.
According to the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) of South Ossetia, during searches conducted on June 4, prohibited items were seized from inmates, including a mobile phone. One of the inmates resisted the colony staff. Besides, on Friday (June 5), inmates refused to observe the rules and committed self-mutilations.
Anatoly Bibilov, President of South Ossetia, has noted that the prison schedule should be observed; and "no one would follow the criminals," the RES reports. He admitted that the staff used force against the inmates, who refused to leave the cells, but this was not "beating,"
Grigory Abaev, a public figure, wrote on the Facebook that about 50 inmates had wounded themselves in protest.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on June 5, 2020 at 09:53 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
