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Troops move to quell Azerbaijani inmates
Shooting and an explosion broke out overnight as troops moved into a prison in the Azerbaijani capital where more than 200 inmates had broken onto the roof to demand the ouster of the prison chief and seek better conditions, eyewitnesses and local media reported Wednesday.
Several ambulances could be seen leaving the area but it was unclear how many casualties there were, witnesses said. Police had moved observers far away from the prison perimeter shortly after midnight, and water cannons then moved in, shooting heavy streams of water at the roof. Several fire engines were on the scene.
After dawn, prisoners started descending a ladder from the roof, but a knot of 15 to 20 inmates remained standing at the center of the roof.
Authorities maintained silence Wednesday, issuing no official statements about the situation.
On Tuesday, Natig Talybov, the head of the Justice Ministry department overseeing prisons, told reporters that the protesters' demands were illegal. He said, however, that the authorities would negotiate a peaceful end to the protest and pledged not to use force.
As negotiations went on, groups of inmates stayed on the roof of the three-story prison, chanting "Resignation!" and holding white sheets with "SOS" written on them, along with statements denouncing the prison chief. Other inmates strolled around the prison yard.
As darkness fell, protesters set campfires on the roof to warm themselves up in frigid temperatures, and some lay down, wrapped in blankets. Outside the wall, commandos beat truncheons against their shields and police dogs barked.
Ogtai Gasymov, the prison chief, told reporters that the prison held 842 convicts. He dismissed the protesters' claims of bad conditions.
Elmira Suleimanova, Azerbaijan's human rights commissioner, said after visiting the prison that conditions weren't perfect but were better than in some other Azerbaijani prisons. She said that protesters had complained about rude treatment by wardens and also demanded an opportunity to freely distribute money among convicts without consulting the wardens.
After meeting with Azerbaijan's justice minister, interior minister and chief prosecutor, Suleimanova said authorities would set up a commission to look into the prisoners' complaints.
Some police officials said on condition of anonymity that the revolt could be linked to the recent firing of senior law enforcement officials accused of helping inmates to get out of prisons early in exchange for bribes.
President Ilham Aliev fired Deputy Justice Minister Aydin Gasimov last month in connection with the probe, and several prison wardens were also dismissed. |
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