Eleven prison inmates and three prison guards have died since late March, Mansourjon Umarov, the head of the Main Penitentiary Directorate of the Ministry of Justice of Tajikistan, told Asia-Plus in an interview.
“They were aged 50 to 70 and according to doctors, all of them died of pneumonia,” said Umarov. “Twenty other prison inmates are undergoing medical treatment. So, generally speaking, the number of prison inmates having fever or quinsy has reduced compared to the previous days and the situation has gotten better.”
“If earlier, up to 50 prison inmates had seen a doctor, yesterday were only six such prisoners, five of them were hospitalized. They were not seriously ill; they were just placed under quarantine for 14 days. Any prisoner who has any symptoms is placed under two-week quarantine,” Umarov added.
According to him, prison inmates are now alarmed. “High fever in one of them causes concern in others. Besides, they have not seen their children, wives and relatives for a long time and it is very difficult for them.”
Recall, prison visits were temporarily suspended in Tajikistan in late March due to coronavirus concerns.
Following president’s order the Ministry of Justice has reportedly developed a plan and special measures to prevent the spreading of coronavirus in prisons. The penitentiary institutions have implemented these measures since March 31.
Face masks have reportedly been distributed among prison inmates and guards. Special units for quarantine were established at each pre-trial detention center, where any detainees having been held for 14 days.
