Russian officials say at least one prisoner has been killed and 15 injured as a result of a riot at a prison facility for inmates with tuberculosis.
Yelena Nikishova, a spokeswoman for the regional branch of Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Institutions Service, said on May 7 that one inmate died from injuries while undergoing surgery after being evacuated from the facility outside of Nizhny Novgorod on the Volga River.
Nikishova said eight inmates were seriously injured. She said no guards or civilian personnel were hurt in the violence.
Authorities said about 100 inmates set fire to two facilities on May 6, smashed security cameras, broke furniture, and attacked other prisoners.
Interfax quoted a state-appointed rights commission as saying that the prisoners have complained about “unlawful” actions by officials in the past.
Mediazona, a website set up to report on prisoner abuse, quoted inmates who said that tuberculosis-afflicted prisoners have been forced to work up to 12 hours a day there.