Inmates have been demanding more freedoms in jail in protests some say are being coordinated by criminal groups outside the prisons.
A riot broke out in one of the remand centers on January 16, when inmates attacked guards and smashed property in the holding facility.
The next day, after authorities quelled the riot, thousands of prisoners at 13 jails and detention centers announced they would hold a hunger strike.
Penitentiary service Chairman Sheyshenbek Bayzakov said authorities have no intention of giving in to the inmates’ demands.
“Let them all sew their mouths shut,” Bayzakov reportedly said.
Kyrgyzstan’s ombudsman, Tursunbek Akun, has said inmates’ rights were violated in the wake of the rioting, according to RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service.
compiled from agency and RFE/RL reports
Source Article from http://www.rferl.org/content/inmates_kyrgyzstan_sew_mouths_shut_protest/24461130.html
