A riot that was raised by inmates of the Khujand penal colony on the night of November 7-8 has been suppressed by riot police unit. There are no reports whether there were killed or not.
An official source at the Main Penitentiary Department of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) of Tajikistan has confirmed that inmates of the Khujand men’s high-security penal colony raised a riot on the night of November 7-8 but it was suppressed by riot police.
The source refrained from giving further details. According to him, a special group is currently working in the penal colony to determine the cause of the riot.
It is still unknown whether there were killed or wounded.
Meanwhile, Radio Liberty’s Tajik Service, locally known as Radio Ozodi, citing its source, reports that several people were killed during the suppression of the riot. Their number is still unknown.
Witnesses say reinforced checkpoints have been set up on all roads and highways leading to neighboring Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.
Recall, a serious riot took place in Khujand-based men’s penal coly 3/19 on April 14, 1997. Prisoners reportedly protested living conditions and perceived injustice in the prison system. Security forces put down the protest on April 17 in what Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called a “massacre.” The Tajik government says 24 prisoners were killed and 35 were wounded, but human rights organizations have estimated as many as 150 people were killed.
