BISHKEK -- Kyrgyz authorities said on October 21 that three convicts have died of heart attacks after they were recaptured by police following a jail break.
Taalaibek Jumanov, Bakyt Kenjegulov, and Muratbek Jumaliev were among prisoners who broke out of a prison in Kyrgyzstan's north on October 12, killing four guards. The state service monitoring prisons said that Jumaliev also had brain hemorrhage.
The announcement by the state service monitoring prisons prompted local media speculations that the men were beaten to death in custody.
Officials say four of the fugitives were convicted of religious extremism and terrorism and that two of them had been serving life sentences.
Prison officials said Jumanov, Kenjegulov, and Jumaliev were sentenced for murder but didn't provide any further details.
Police have so far detained five of the fugitives, while two were killed in a search operation.
Two others remain at large.