From: EurasiaDigest (digest@eurasianet.org)
Date: Mon Feb 27 2006 - 10:03:00 EST
DEADLY RIOT AT HIGH-SECURITY AFGHAN PRISON
Up to seven people are reported to have been killed and more than 30 others injured in a riot that broke out in Pol-e Charkhi Prison on the outskirts of Kabul on 26 February, international news agencies reported. According to Afghan Deputy Justice Minister Mohammad Qasem Hashemzai, the violence began when Afghan and foreign prisoners refused to wear uniforms being distributed to them and attacked the guards on duty, Pajhwak Afghan News reported on 26 February. According to Hashemzai, around 350 Taliban and Al-Qaeda inmates prevented the authorities from evacuating the injured from the prison complex. The prisoners "are making inordinate demands," Hashemzai told reporters, adding that some asked for one of President Hamid Karzai's deputies to come and negotiate with them, while another group wanted to meet with People's Council speaker Mohammad Yunos Qanuni or Council of Elders speaker Sebghatullah Mojaddedi. Around a thousand prisoners are said to have been involved in the riots, Peshawar-based Afghan Islami
c Press reported on 26 February. A standoff and ensuing raid in Pol-e Charkhi Prison in December 2004 left one Iraqi and three Pakistani prisoners and four Afghan police dead (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 20 December 2004). AT
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