Reuters AlertNet Lite - Inmates smash up jail in Georgia

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Inmates smash up jail in Georgia

14 Aug 2007 11:16:13 GMT
Source: Reuters

TBILISI, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Inmates smashed up a prison in the Georgian capital Tbilisi, breaking windows and destroying lights before violence was quelled by security forces early on Tuesday.

A justice ministry spokeswoman said the trouble began as a squabble amongst prisoners and that none had made any demands on the administration. She said 12 prisoners had slashed their wrists in protest at the intervention of police.

There was no independent confirmation of what caused the violence.

Human rights groups say some prison conditions are inhumane in Georgia, which has aligned itself with the West and seeks to join both NATO and the European Union.

Georgian television showed pictures of young, thin prisoners on the second floor of the jail pushing wooden doors through the bars and shouting at guards in the courtyard below.

Outside the prison, families of inmates screamed their frustration at police. One woman fainted.

"Justice ministry forces have now calmed the atmosphere in the jail," said spokeswoman Salome Makharadze. "No prisoner had put forward any demands to the administration."

In March 2006, Georgian police fired on inmates to quell a riot at another Georgian prison.

A Council of Europe official described Georgia's prisons as among the worst he had seen after an inspection in 2006. He described Soviet jails, still in use while others are built, as cruel, degrading and inhumane.

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Last updated:Tue Aug 14 11:16:22 2007