On the afternoon of February 3, at 15:44, a group of nine inmates of the high-security penal colony (IK No 3/2) in Vahdat launched an attack using improvised tools against the guards, the state-run news agency Khovar reported, citing the Public Relations Center of the Main Directorate for the Execution of Criminal Sentences (GUIN) of the Ministry of Justice of Tajikistan.
As a result of the attack, three colony staff members reportedly sustained serious injuries.
"The prisoners did not comply with the lawful demands of the facility’s administration. Using sharp and stabbing iron knives of their own making, they continued their criminal actions without presenting any complaints or conditions, attempted to kill the guards, and tried to escape.
The guards acted in accordance with the law and service instructions and were forced to use firearms against the attackers. As a result, three criminals were neutralized, while the rest were detained," the statement reads.
It is noted that medical assistance was provided to the injured colony staff, and their health condition is "assessed as stable."
The security and protection system of the penal colony has reportedly been fully restored.
This is not the first incident at this penal colony
This is not the first emergency related to prisoner disobedience within the GUIN system, particularly in the Vahdat penal colony.
A riot broke out in this penal colony late on May 19, 2019. Three prison guards and 29 inmates were killed in the penal colony riot that the government blamed on militants of the Islamic State (IS) terror group serving their jail terms in that prison.
The Ministry of Justice said on May 20 that the riot broke out late on May 19 as the militants armed with knives and other sharp objects killed three guards and five fellow prisoners. Among the prisoners who were killed by the militants were two senior members of the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT).
The militants reportedly then torched the prison hospital, took several inmates hostage and tried to fight their way out. Security forces killed 24 militants in the battle to restore order in the prison, the Justice Ministry.
The authorities said one of the instigators of the riot was Behrouz Gulmurod, a son of Gulmurod Halimov, a Tajik special forces colonel who defected to the IS terror group in 2015.
The prison, known locally as Kirpichniy, Russian word for "brick", is located some 15 kilometers to the east of Dushanbe.
Twenty-eight inmates of a high-security penal in Vahdat Township have got lengthy jail terms for their roles in the riot. On October 25, 2019, the Supreme Court passed the sentence and the prison rioters got additional lengthy terms ranging from 19 to 29 years.
