[Onthebarricades] Prison uprisings, Apr-Aug 2008
Andy
ldxar1 at tesco.net
Fri Aug 29 19:27:13 PDT 2008
ON THE BARRICADES: Global Resistance Roundup, April-August 2008
https://lists.resist.ca/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/onthebarricades
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/globalresistance/
* AFGHANISTAN: Hunger strike in Kandahar prison
* PAKISTAN: Rooftop protest against abuse
* PAKISTAN: Death of inmate sparks protest
* KENYA: Screws shoot at prisoners as unrest occurs during prison strike
* PARAGUAY: Prisoners "riot for more sex" and against abuse
* JORDAN: 20 injured in prison unrest
* LEBANON: Prison uprising ends with release of hostages
* SYRIA: Prison uprising followed by alleged massacre
* MYANMAR/BURMA: 36 dead as state suppresses prison uprising
* UK: Psychiatric prisoners protest smoking ban, mount roof
* AUSTRALIA: Screws' strike raises prisoners' rights issues
* NEW ZEALAND: Protest paintings by prisoner protesting innocence
* INDIA: Protesters fast over change of judge
* US, Spokane, Washington: Prison damaged during uprising
* CANADA, Nova Scotia: Prison smoking ban leads to cell sit-in
* SPAIN: Drug offender goes on hunger strike over mistreatment
* US, Pennsylvania: Death row prisoner on hunger strike demanding perjury
investigation
* AUSTRALIA: Rooftop protest at Brisbane prison
* SOUTH AFRICA: TB patients protest prison-like detention
* INDIA: Inmates hunger-strike for amnesty
* CHINA: Dissident escapes police after arrest
* IRELAND: Revolt at prison over "security" crackdown
* CANADA: After fight between inmates, some occupy yard, start fires
* PHILIPPINES: Unrest at prison
* AUSTRALIA: Youth prisoners revolt after guard attacks with teargas
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7397032.stm
Kandahar jail inmates end protest
Inmates at Kandahar jail in Afghanistan have ended a week-long hunger strike
after a parliamentary delegation promised to address their demands.
Almost 400 prisoners were involved in the protest. They said they had been
denied access to fair trials and some also complained of torture.
One of the visiting MPs said all the cases would be reviewed by new judges.
The government says the prisoners have links to the Taleban, but the inmates
and say they are political prisoners.
http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=116117
Prisoners protest torture in Sukkur jail, killing of UTP Monday, June 02,
2008
By our correspondent
KHAIRPUR: The under-trail prisoners (UTPs) of the Sukkur Central Jail-I
climbed to the rooftop of the jail building on Sunday to press for
acceptance of their demands.
Reports from the Sukkur jail said a large number of the UTPs, while staging
protest against the jail authorities, climbed to the rooftop of the prison
where they set their clothes on fire. The UTPs declined to end their protest
when Jail Superintendent (JS) Zulfiqar Ali Langah asked to them to end their
protest and gave assurance to resolve their problems.
They continued their protest and ended it only after Adviser to the CM on
Jail Reforms, Gul Muhammad Jakhrani sent message assuring to resolve their
problems. The prisoner alleged that a UTP Muhammad Moosa Shar died due to
torture of the jail staff and demanded registration of FIR against the jail
authorities.
Reports said the prisoners denied to take meals and tea and reiterated upon
the jail administration to call Adviser to the CM on Jail Reforms, Gul
Muhammad Jakhrani to talk to them. The jail authorities contacted the
adviser but he due to some engagements he directed the DCO Sukkur to visit
the jail and convey his assurance to the prisoners of resolving their
problems.
Accordingly the DCO Sukkur, Inamullah Dharaijo rushed to the jail and
conveyed the assurance of the Advisor of providing them justice. The UTPs,
on this assurance by the DCO and advisor to the CM, ended their protest and
came down from the rooftop of the prison.
The UTPs informed the DCO that they had not been taken to the court for the
hearings of their cases. They also blamed that the jail administration
extorted money from their visitors, while the jail officials continue
torturing them.
Talking to reporters, the JS said he and his staff had not been annoying any
of the UTPs and were providing them with facilities according to the jail
manual. The JS clarified that the Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Abdul
Hameed Dogar had visited Khairpur and the lawyers and judges were in
attendance of the CJP and the courts were not held. Talking to the media
later, Gul Muhammad Jakhrani said he had initiated efforts to ensure relief
to the prisoners.
http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=127970
Prisoners protest death of inmate Monday, August 04, 2008
MIANWALAI: Prisoners of the Central Jail Mianwali here on Sunday protested
against the jail administration for thrashing a prisoner to death.
The jail administration called the police to control the protesting
prisoners, who made the jail staff hostage when they were not allowed to
record their statements before the judicial magistrate on the death of an
under-trial prisoner Mohammad Ajmal.
The jail sources said Ajmal, who was involved in a theft case, died on
Saturday night in the jail. The officials later informed his heirs about the
incident and said it was a suicide. However, the jail inmates alleged that
Ajmal was severely beaten by the jail authorities.
On Sunday morning when Judicial Magistrate Qamar Abbas was recording the
statements of the jail officials on Ajmal’s death, the prisoners gathered
there and demanded that their statements should also be recorded.
On refusal of the jail administration to record their statements, the
prisoners demonstrated and made the jail employees hostage. Later, the jail
authorities called the police to control the situation. They also resorted
to aerial firing to disperse the protestors. Meanwhile, relatives of the
deceased also blocked the Mianwali-Rawalpindi road and protested against the
jail administration over the death of Ajmal.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200804290017.html
Kenya: Deaths As Prison Warders Press On
The East African Standard (Nairobi)
29 April 2008
Posted to the web 29 April 2008
Standard Team
Nairobi
Gunshots were fired inside the Kamiti Maximum Prison as warders tried to
contain a near-riot on day four of the crisis in jails.
In Kisumu, two inmates died at Kodiaga and Kibos prisons as they were being
taken to hospital for treatment.
It was a hectic and chaotic day for warders and prisoners at Kamiti Prison
yesterday - the former protesting against poor working and living conditions
and the latter demanding to be taken to courts for the hearing of their
cases.
Sources at the prison said an inmate was shot and seriously wounded after a
warder ordered them to stop fighting and return to their cells.
A contingent of the dreaded paramilitary officers, the General Service Unit,
was deployed to man the perimeter of the jail just in case prisoners
attempted to escape.
The chaos at the prison was so serious that the Commissioner of Prisons
himself, Mr Gilbert Omondi, visited in an attempt to stop the protests and
riots.
He was a besieged man as curious journalists demanded answers to issues
raised by prisoners. A group of death row convicts turned rowdy as Omondi
was addressing them. They challenged the commissioner to address the plight
of the warders.
They also demanded the release of the Kamiti Prison officer in charge, Mr
Peter Njuguna Ngugi. He was charged alongside a Deputy Commissioner of
Prisons, Mr John
Isaac Odongo, who is also the Commandant of the Prisons Training College,
among others. (See separate story on page
The prison officers pleaded "Not guilty" to charges of incitement and
neglect of duty at the Nairobi Chief Magistrate's Court, 16 lawyers offered
to represent them for free.
Over at Jogoo House, the Vice-President and Minister for Home Affairs, Mr
Kalonzo Musyoka, bent over backwards from the previous day's hard line and
offered the warders a Sh5,000 monthly allowance each.
This was a victory for the warders because they boycotted work at the
weekend over the allowance, saying their counterparts in the police force
were receiving it but they had been left out.
Kalonzo also announced that the Sh10,000 stipend for the warders who had
helped beef up security during the post-election chaos would also be paid.
Again, other security forces were paid the allowance in February, but prison
officers were left out - a second victory for the warders.
The other sticking issue for the prison staff is housing. Images of shacks
and hovels that litter prisons and are home to warders have driven home -
more than anything else - the inhumane conditions under which prison staff
live and work.
Warders continued to rubbish and dismiss a committee Kalonzo set up at the
weekend to look into their woes. Former Vice-President and Minister for Home
Affairs, Mr Moody Awori, will chair it. Members include former Commissioner
of Prisons, Mr Abraham Kamakil.
The prison staff say Awori and Kamakil have little to offer because they
have been at the helm and things did not change. Ironically, Awori has been
credited with the reforms in prisons and opening them up.
But to the warders this is the problem - it is their view that the former VP
improved life for prisoners, not warders.
But in an apparent response to the raging hostility that has greeted the
composition of the team, Kalonzo yesterday announced that the committee
would be expanded to include unions and other key players.
The VP, however, warned that disciplinary action would be taken against
officers who had defied lawful orders or incited colleagues to violence.
The effect of the standoff in prisons began to bite yesterday, with courts
being affected in many parts of the country. Warders' work boycott slowed
down the ferrying of remandees to courts for the hearing of their cases.
It was not clear by last night whether normalcy would return to the jails
following Kalonzo's announcement that the prison staff would be paid the
Sh10,000 post-election chaos stipend and Sh5,000 risk allowance.
http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/india-news/paraguayan-prisoners-riot-for-more-sex_10063375.html
Paraguayan prisoners riot for more sex
June 23rd, 2008 - 5:24 pm ICT by ANI - Email This Post
London, June 23 (ANI): Inmates at a prison in Paraguay have detained the
director of the prison and several other administration staff to meet an
unusual demand of having more sex in prison.
The prisoners rioted demanding more time to have sex with their wives and
girlfriends and put an end to ill treatment by prison guards, reports the
Telegraph.
Though Paraguayan prisons allow conjugal visits during the day, the law in
Esperanza clashes with the prisoners’ working hours, when they run small
businesses such as clothing factories.
The inmates said that they had complained that work was getting in the way
of pleasure, but were not heard, so they decided to turn rebellious.
However, Derlis Osorio, the Paraguayan justice minister, said the riot ended
after a tense, four-hour stand-off and there were no deaths or injuries.
The inmates demands were met and the officials declared that the prisoners
would be allowed more conjugal visits during the day, outside working hours.
The officials also assured to improve the way guards treated inmates, to
investigate claims of abuse and to end the regime of strip searches of
visitors. (ANI)
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/04/15/africa/ME-GEN-Jordan-Prison-Riot.php
Jordanian police: 40 inmates injured in prison riot in kingdom's largest
jail
The Associated Press
Published: April 15, 2008
AMMAN, Jordan: Dozens of inmates were injured in rioting in Jordan's largest
prison on Tuesday, a day after three inmates were killed in another jail in
violence prompted by attempts to segregate al-Qaida militants from other
prisoners.
Police spokesman Maj. Mohammed al-Khatib said some 400 prisoners were
evacuated from their jail blocks after rioting erupted at 9:30 a.m. (0630
GMT) at the Swaqa Penitentiary, 100 kilometers (62 miles) south of the
Jordanian capital.
The riots were led by dozens of prisoners convicted of murder and theft, he
said. The rioters smashed windows and lamp posts and used them as tools to
cut their faces and bodies, Al-Khatib said, adding that others set
mattresses in their blocks ablaze.
At least 40 inmates suffered cuts or smoke inhalation, before firefighters
put out the fires and the rioting ended five hours later.
Al-Khatib said the trouble in Swaqa, the largest of Jordan's 10 prisons, was
in solidarity with riots at another Jordanian jail, the Muwaqqar
Penitentiary, where three inmates were killed in rioting involving scores of
prisoners who were objecting to separating al-Qaida-linked militants from
other convicts.
Police said the three died of smoke inhalation after they also set fire to
mattresses in the three-hour-long rioting at Muwaqqar.
Police said Muwaqqar rioting began when wardens tried to move some
non-militant inmates to other sections of the desert prison, or to other
detention facilities in line with a police regulation introduced last week.
The decision calls for separating convicts from detainees who are still on
trial. It also divides inmates according to age, physical build, conviction
and sentence length.
A recent study released by the Jordan-based National Center for Human Rights
has warned that authorities must pay more attention to the "appalling"
conditions in Jordanian prisons, such as overcrowded cells and lack of
recreation facilities.
http://www.naharnet.com/domino/tn/NewsDesk.nsf/getstory?openform&4A674D829070DBA8C2257436001B5995
Prison Riot Ends, Hostages Freed
A mutiny at Lebanon's largest prison in Roumiyeh where guards had been taken
hostage ended peacefully early Friday.
"The prisoners handed over the seven warders they were holding hostage and
returned to their cells after having negotiated and handed over demands to
the chief of internal security, Antoine Shakuri," a security official said.
The prisoners at Roumiyeh, eight kilometers (five miles) northeast of
Beirut, were calling for an improvement in their prison conditions and a
reduction in their sentences, he said. Most of the inmates were serving long
sentences, or were on death row.
The official said police chief Gen. Ashraf Rifi promised to examine ways of
replying to these demands in the framework of the law.
Earlier he said that the rioters had set fire to their cells in the block
holding convicted inmates.
The mutiny broke out at 4:35 pm Thursday after a quarrel between a warder
and a Palestinian prisoner got out of hand.
Security sources told Naharnet hundreds of riot policemen advanced across
the ground floor of the building after firefighters extinguished a blaze
that inmates had started in mattresses after taking guards hostage.
"The riot police force moved into the building through emergency outlets,
cleared the ground floor which includes the management offices and moved
into the first floor" of the three-story building, said one source who asked
not to be identified. Each floor includes 60 cells.
The rioting inmates are armed with makeshift knives, and "sharp tools," the
source added.
"They don't have firearms simply because the guards they took hostage were
not armed in line with prison rules," the source explained.
The advancing force is using "tear gas canisters to control the inmates,
some of whom are surrendering," he added.
Academic Omar al-Nashabi, who has carried out a study on the prison, told
AFP that more than 4,000 prisoners were being held in the jail which was
originally designed in 1971 to hold a maximum of 1,500.
"The building where the mutiny erupted houses nearly 950 prisoners, 225 of
them foreigners, mainly Palestinians or Syrians," he said.
The security official said the disturbances did not affect the remand
section of the prison where detainees suspected of taking part in a deadly
Islamist uprising in the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp last summer
are being held.
He explained that four ex-security commanders, jailed in Roumiyeh in
connection with the 2005 murder of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri, are also being
held in the remand section about 150 meters away from the convicts' compound
at the recommendation of the U.N. commission of inquiry into his
killing.(Naharnet-AFP)
Beirut, 25 Apr 08, 07:38
http://www.arabianbusiness.com/524358-india-pushes-for-release-of-rak-riot-workers
July 09,2008
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Syrian Dissidents Demand Probe of Prison Riots
By The Media Line Staff
Syrian dissidents are demanding an international investigation into riots in
a Syrian prison, in which several dozen people have reportedly been killed.
Legal experts and Syrian opposition parties are condemning what they call
the deteriorating situation at 'Sidnaya military prison near Damascus.
Riots broke out in the jail on Saturday after inmates protested during a
prison count, resulting in confrontations between the inmates and state
security forces. Initial reports said inmates had taken as many as 300
soldiers hostage at the scene.
There have been conflicting reports as to the outcome of the riots and the
casualty count.
Opposition groups say at least 25 inmates were killed, 100 wounded and that
most of the casualties were Islamists and political dissidents. They caution
that the accurate death toll could be a lot higher.
They accuse Syrian officials of purposely downplaying the severity of the
crisis to divert attention from it and from the mistreatment of Islamist
prisoners.
Officials say they have controlled the situation, but opposition members and
human-rights groups say they have been in contact with inmates at the scene
who say that dozens have been killed and that the riots have not been
quelled.
Syrian dissidents in London asked for Arab, Islamic and international
initiatives to constrain the riots and called for an international
investigation.
They said those responsible for the violence should be accountable for their
deeds and brought to justice, according to Al-Jazeera.
Dissidents said the Syrian regime is perpetrating a "silent massacre" in the
prison and said Damascus was trying to present a clean image to the West by
cracking down on extremists.
The Syrian news agency SANA said the rebellious inmates were sentenced for
crimes related to extremism and terrorism and accused them of breaching
order, undermining security and attacking their peers during a prison count.
They said legal measures were taken against the offenders.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-syria9-2008jul09,0,1495998.story?track=rss
Riot at Syrian prison threatens to escalate
Human rights groups say at least 25 inmates, mostly Islamist and political
dissidents, have been killed and as many as 100 injured by security forces.
By Raed Rafei, Special to The Times
July 9, 2008
BEIRUT -- A deadly days-long standoff between inmates and security forces
threatened to escalate at a Syrian military prison known for holding
Islamist and political dissidents, human rights observers said Tuesday.
According to rights groups in touch with prisoners and other sources in
Syria, security forces have already killed at least 25 inmates and wounded
as many as 100 at the Saydnaya prison on the outskirts of Damascus, the
capital.
The violence erupted Saturdayafter inmates rioted to protest a sweep of the
prison by guards, the rights groups said. The police responded by firing on
the prisoners.
"The last ultimatum made by the Syrian security forces at the prison to the
protesting prisoners demanded them to end their disobedience before Tuesday
dawn," said a statement posted on the website of the Syrian Observatory for
Human Rights.
Authorities warned they would carry out an assault "at any human cost" if
prisoners did not surrender, the statement said.
The fate of the inmates remained largely unknown late Tuesday after all
telephone contact with the prisoners ended early in the day.
On Sunday, Syrian authorities accused inmates of starting the riots.
"Prisoners sentenced for crimes of terrorism and extremism caused trouble,"
they said in a statement published on the website of the official Syrian
Arab News Agency, the last word from authorities on the matter. "They
attacked their comrades during a prison inspection. . . . A security force
unit immediately took action to remedy the situation and restore calm in the
prison."
The statement did not specify casualties, but human rights activists said
the toll was high. They also said that the standoff continued despite the
government claim that calm had been restored.
"It's a real massacre against political detainees from all backgrounds,"
said Mohammed Maamoun Homsi, a Syrian activist who once served five years in
jail and now monitors his homeland from Beirut.
"We think there could be as many as a hundred killed, judging from the
activity of the ambulances rushing casualties into the military medical
facility," he said.
He alleged that the riots started when guards began to torment the prisoners
and desecrate copies of the Koran. Most political prisoners in Syria are
Islamic activists. The government is controlled by the secular Baath Party.
During the initial uprising, prisoners seized more than 300 soldiers as
hostages, said Aussama Monajed, a London-based member of a Syrian dissident
group, the Movement for Justice and Development, who based his account on
phone conversations with prisoners.
Authorities dispatched riot troops and tanks to subdue the prisoners with
tear gas and then began negotiations for the release of the hostages, he
added. Prisoners fled to the roof to escape the tear gas and have offered to
surrender if the interior minister will guarantee their safety.
Human rights groups have not been allowed into the prison.
http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?from=rss_Middle%20East&set_id=1&click_id=123&art_id=nw20080705135201207C179181
'Syrian guards kill during prison riot'
July 05 2008 at 03:14PM
Beirut - A London-based Syrian human rights group said on Saturday that
Syrian security forces had shot dead dozens of prisoners during a riot at a
military jail near Damascus.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said military police fired at
Islamist prisoners who rioted at Sidnaya jail earlier in the day.
"The number of the dead are in the tens," the group said in a statement.
"Prisoners have gone to the roof, fearing for their lives. Military police
elements are still firing live bullets..."
There was no immediate word from Syrian authorities on the report.
"The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights demands that President Bashar Assad
intervenes immediately to stop this massacre," it said.
Syria holds hundreds of Islamist militants and other political prisoners.
International human rights groups often complain of random arrests and
torture in Syrian jails.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/BKK187023.htm
Rights group says 36 dead after prison riot in Myanmar
05 May 2008 13:16:03 GMT
Source: Reuters
BANGKOK, May 5 (Reuters) - Soldiers and police killed 36 prisoners inside
Myanmar's most infamous jail to quell a riot that started in the devastating
wake of Cyclone Nargis, a Thailand-based human rights group said on Monday.
After the storm ripped zinc roof sheets of many cell blocks, guards at
Yangon's notorious Insein prison herded around 1,000 prisoners into a large
hall and locked the doors, the Assistance Association for Political
Prisoners Burma (AAPPB) said.
The men lit a fire to get warm, but thick smoke quickly filled the building,
sparking panic.
"The situation escalated and chaos ensued," the AAPPB, one of the most
reliable sources of information about conditions inside military-ruled
Myanmar's gulag, said in a statement.
"In order to control the situation, soldiers and riot police were called in.
They opened fire on the prisoners in that area. Thirty-six prisoners were
killed instantly and around 70 were injured," it said.
With most telephone lines into the former Burma severed and the Internet
down, it was impossible to confirm the report with another source.
Cyclone Nargis killed at least 4,000 people, and left another 3,000 people
missing, state media said. (Reporting by Ed Cropley; Editing by Darren
Schuettler)
http://www.tobacco.org/news/269394.html
Patients stage protest over smoking ban
Jump to full article: Buckingham Today (uk), 2008-07-31
Intro:
Patients at the secure hospital in Liverpool where Moors murderer Ian Brady
is held have staged a rooftop protest after a smoking ban was introduced.
Three patients at the high security Ashworth Hospital climbed on to the roof
of a ward in the protest, which lasted most of the night.
The Prison Officers Association (POA) said its members had claimed a ward
was "smashed up" during the protest but the trust which runs the facility
did not release any details about damage.
Brian Caton, general secretary of the POA, said: "I spoke to branch
officials today there (at Ashworth) and they said patients had smashed up
Blake Ward, I think, which is an admission ward. It was our members who went
in to remove those who were not involved in it."
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/jail-strike-officers-protest-lockdown-procedures/2008/06/30/1214677912760.html
Jail strike: officers protest lockdown procedures
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Jonathan Dart
July 1, 2008
Angry prison officers have accused the State Government of keeping inmates
locked in their cells for extended periods to save money.
Around 100 officers went on strike at Long Bay Prison today to protest over
current lockdown procedures, under which inmates are kept in their cells for
24 hours.
The measure is traditionally used to allow staff to attend training courses
but the union representing the state's prison officers said this was no
longer the case.
"It seems to be a cost-saving exercise under the guise of training,"
chairman of the NSW Prison Officers Vocational Branch of the Public Service
Association, Matt Bindley, said.
Mr Bindley said inmates were locked down in their cells for 24 hours once
every fortnight. Ironically, around 300 inmates at Long Bay had to be locked
down today in response to the strike.
A Department of Correctional Services spokeswoman said the jail is being
staffed by executive prison officers. "Security is not compromised at all,"
she said.
The department's industrial officer has logged a notice of dispute with the
Industrial Relations Commission over the dispute.
The strike will last 24 hours before the union meets tomorrow morning to
discuss further action.
The union also claims staff are being given insufficient pay upgrades and
lack of computers to cope with the department's new digitised reporting
system.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10509382
Watson has his protest down to a fine art
5:00AM Sunday May 11, 2008
By Jared Savage
Sounds murders
Convicted Sounds double-murderer Scott Watson has turned to canvas to take a
swipe at the policeman who led the investigation into the disappearance of
Ben Smart and Olivia Hope.
Convicted in 1999 for the murders of Ben and Olivia, , Watson has taken up
painting as a means to while away his life sentence - and to make a
political statement protesting his innocence.
One work contains the statement "Rob Pope murders me", apparently suggesting
the man who led the investigation got it wrong.
The Independent Police Complaints Authority is investigating complaints
deputy police commissioner Pope swore misleading affidavits to obtain
surveillance warrants. A police spokesman said Pope would not comment until
the inquiry was complete.
Another criminal complaint laid by Watson's father, Chris, took four years
for police to complete. A week after the Herald on Sunday revealed the
delay, the report was completed - but police refuse to release it.
Another of Watson's paintings contains the phrase "A Commissioner's
Chickens", but Chris Watson said his son's works should not necessarily be
interpreted literally. "If he paints one with a boat, then of course that
means people think he's thinking about dropping people in the water. He
knows that."
protest down fine art convicted sounds double murderer scott turned canvas
take swipe policeman led investigation into disappearance ben smart olivia
hope convicted murders ben olivia taken up painting means while away life
sentence" Chris and his wife Beverley buy art supplies for Watson which
they send to his prison in Christchurch.
Chris said his son sent his work home to be given to friends and family.
"We're running out of wall space."
Art experts compared Watson's art to work by Picasso and Colin McCahon,
though not always favourably. Art dealer John Gow, director of John Leech
Gallery, said Watson had painted some interesting pieces but "none would be
hanging on my wall".
Watson had obviously read some quality art history books in prison, said
Gow, and had recreated works reminiscent of Picasso's imagery.
Some of the "nicer" paintings were styled on the Russian Constructivist
movement, said Gow. Poorer pieces could be compared to McCahon.
"Well, it's only like McCahon in that there are words over paint. It's a
political statement in the medium of paint. But it's bad art."
Jon Bywater, head of the Elam School of Fine Art at Auckland University,
said Watson's work was at a beginner level.
"Frankly, in themselves the paintings are pretty uninteresting.
"The ones that stand out are the ones mentioning Rob Pope and Commissioner's
Chickens.
"Watson hints at a secret truth, 'something that I know and you don't',
because it's cryptic."
Watson's lawyers are preparing a petitionto the Governor-General.
http://www.thehindu.com/2008/04/23/stories/2008042354420600.htm
Protest by jail inmates
Staff Reporter
BANGALORE: Twenty one inmates of Bangalore Central Prison, who had been
accused of involvement in the multicrore stamp paper racket, began a fast
protesting against the transfer of the judge trying the cases. According to
Chief Superintendent of the Prison M.C. Vishwanathaiah, the inmates were not
happy with the transfer of Judge C.G. Hungund, who was trying their cases.
The inmates said posting a new judge would delay the trial and that they had
already spent more time than the period of imprisonment for the offence they
had been charged with. They said they would continue the protest till the
judge is put back on the case.
http://www.khq.com/global/story.asp?s=8340935
Jail damaged after angry inmates protest
Posted: May 17, 2008 07:02 PM
Updated: May 23, 2008 10:04 PM
SPOKANE, Wash. - The Spokane County Jail suffered some damage Friday night
after a three-hour disturbance in which almost 50 inmates began yelling and
flooding their cells.
Jail Commander Jerry Brady said and entire wing of inmates on the 6th floor
wanting more time out of their cells, and to be moved to a different area of
the jail, became discontent around 11:00 p.m. A ceiling and several light
fixtures were damaged during the incident.
Corrections staff covered the inmates' cell door windows with magnetic
covers and used a half dozen large vacuum cleaners to drown out their
yelling.
The disturbance subsided around 3:00 a.m.
20-year old Daniel M. Campbell, who was being held on felony counts of
Possession of Controlled Substance and Second-Degree Assault, was charged
Saturday morning with Second-Degree Malicious Mischief.
Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich attributed the disturbance to overcrowding at the
jail, saying that being placed in maximum security was no longer a
sufficient punishment because inmates actually prefer to be there since they
get more free time.
Staff are still assessing the facility for unseen damage and say they
probably won't know the total cost of damages until Monday.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/nova-scotia/story/2008/06/02/jail-lockdown.html?ref=rss
Springhill inmates protest smoking ban by staying in their cells
Last Updated: Monday, June 2, 2008 | 9:47 AM AT Comments31Recommend17
CBC News
A prison protest at the Springhill Institution in northern Nova Scotia is
continuing, with inmates refusing to leave their cells or attend programs in
protest of a smoke-free policy that took effect May 20.
There is now a Canada-wide ban on smoking in prisons.
The 480 prisoners at the medium-security facility in the town of Springhill,
near Amherst, have been in their cells since last week when they refused to
attend morning breakfast.
"They have chosen not to leave their cells to participate in any daily
activities," Shannon Oickle, spokeswoman with the Springhill Institution,
said Monday. "So, that causes us to move into a lockdown routine. When you
hear lockdown, it's not us locking them down, but it's as a result of them
not coming out of their cells.
"They are being fed in their cells and recreation is limited due to the
nature of our situation."
She said discussions are ongoing with the prisoners.
http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?from=rss_North%20Africa&set_id=1&click_id=85&art_id=nw20080429090643296C908040
Drug lord protest against 'treatment'
April 29 2008 at 11:17AM
Madrid - A top drug trafficker detained last week by police in the Spanish
enclave of Ceuta in north Africa after he escaped from a Moroccan jail in
December has gone on hunger strike, his lawyer said on Monday.
Mohamed Taieb Ahmed, who has dual Spanish-Moroccan nationality, has taken
the step to protest at being "treated as a Moroccan subject," his lawyer
Jose Luis Pizarro said in a statement cited by the Europa Press news agency.
"His Spanish nationality, which he has had since his birth, has not been
recognised and instead he has been treated as a Moroccan subject," the
agency quoted the statement as saying.
Spanish police detained Ahmed, also known as "El Nene" or "The Baby," in his
native Ceuta on Wednesday as he was driving around the city centre. He is in
a Spanish jail awaiting possible extradition to Morocco.
He was wrongly identified by Moroccan authorities as Mohamed Ouazzani,
Pizarro said, adding in the statement that his client was never a fugitive.
"In December after completing his sentence he returned to his country by
crossing a proper border crossing," he said.
In December 2007, Ahmed escaped Kenitra high-security prison 40 kilometres
north of the capital Rabat, where he had been serving an eight-year prison
term since 2004 for a drug conviction.
Spanish police estimate he is behind the introduction of 50 tonnes of
cannabis each year into Europe through Spain's southern coast, making him
one of the world's major drug traffickers.
He acquired an estimated €30-million (about R341-million) fortune from
dealing, according to a Spanish police statement released after his
detention in Ceuta.
Ahmed's prison cell was equipped with a plasma television, air conditioning
and Internet access which he obtained by bribing prison staff with cash and
gifts of cars and motorcycles.
He regularly ordered in takeaway meals from Kenitra's best restaurants and
is reported to have been allowed out on several occasions to treat guards to
free dinners.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/769953/pennsylvania_death_row_inmate_herbert.html
Pennsylvania Death Row Inmate Herbert Blakeney Protests by Hunger Strike
Prison News in Brief
By Dee, published May 16, 2008
Published Content: 169 Total Views: 200,408 Favorited By: 78 CPs
Herbert Blakeney, also know as Luqman Bilal, a Pennsylvania death row inmate
has been on a hunger strike for over a week now. His only intake has been
water. His demands are to correct processing of the perjury charges against
the witnesses in his trial and provision of a family Attorney to protect
their rights.
Blakeney claims he was framed for a murder that he witnesses by a police
officer in 2000. In a petition circulating the Internet written by Linda
Blakeney, Herbert's wife from the Uk, it states how the "District Attorney's
office key principal witnesses all committed perjury."
Blakeney was "placed in a restraint chair, beaten, tortured, given a mock
trial by Guards, coerced to make false statements, the stitches were ripped
out of his hand" among other tortures and abuses claims his wife in the
petition.
The Blakeney's wish that you view the full petition and sign it if you
agree. The petition can be viewed here.
Herbert welcomes correspondence and any help that is offered and can be
reached at the following address:
Herbert Blakeney #FB5713,
S.C.I. Greene,
175 Progress Drive,
Waynesburg, PA.
15370-8090
U.S.A
Source: Petition, Email from L. Blakeney
http://www.petitiononline.com/hb24332/petition.html
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/06/08/2268557.htm
Inmate protests on prison roof
Posted Sun Jun 8, 2008 9:00pm AEST
Map: Brisbane 4000
A high security prisoner has been talked down from the roof of the Arthur
Gorrie Correctional Centre in Brisbane's west.
Queensland Corrective Services staff say the male prisoner climbed on the
roof of the Wacol facility on Sunday afternoon in protest over a planned
transfer to another jail.
Prison guards managed to convince the man to come down at about 6:30pm AEST.
Police say there were also reports of other prisoners fending off prison
guards with a broom handle.
Corrective Services says an investigation has been launched into the
incident.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/28/world/africa/28briefs-PROTESTBYTBP_BRF.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin
South Africa: Protest by TB Patients
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: June 28, 2008
The authorities increased security at a tuberculosis hospital near the city
of Port Elizabeth where patients with drug-resistant forms of the disease
went on a rampage on Wednesday to protest prisonlike conditions. Twenty-two
patients were arrested after they pelted the staff members with stones and
vandalized equipment. But the local police station and prison refused to
admit them, because of fears of the highly infectious disease. Instead, they
were returned to the hospital. Patients with drug-resistant strains of
tuberculosis are required to live in guarded and isolated quarters that are
surrounded by barbed wire.
http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7011409668
TB Patients Riot Over Conditions At South African Hospital
ShareThis
June 27, 2008 9:41 p.m. EST
Nidhi Sharma - AHN News Writer
Cape Town, S. Africa (AHN) - Some 22 multi-drug-resistant and
extreme-drug-resistant TB patients in a South African hospital went on a
rampage Wednesday to protest prison-like conditions.
The Jose Pearson TB hospital in Port Elizabeth has beefed up its security
measures after the patients, 17 men and five women aged between 18 and 42,
were arrested for throwing rocks at security guards and vandalising
equipment. The patients were housed in an isolated facility in the hospital
after they were returned by court and police on Thursday for fears of their
highly infectious diseases.
Patients complained that the hospital is like a prison for the sick. It is
encircled by three fences topped with coils of razor wire to keep patients
infected with lethal strains of tuberculosis from escaping.
The public health threat from drug-resistant TB is grave. The disease
spreads through the air when patients cough and sneeze. It is resistant to
the most effective drugs. In South Africa, these resistant strains of
tuberculosis have multiplied and attacked those with weakened immune systems
due to AIDS.
The extensively drug-resistant TB has rapidly emerged as a global threat to
public health. Hospitals have no choice but to house the patients in an
isolated facility in the hospital. The hospital houses more than 300
patients.
Some 563 people were confirmed with extensively drug-resistant TB last year
in South Africa and started on treatment, compared with only 20 cases in the
United States from 2000 through 2006. A third of those patients in South
Africa died in 2007; more than 300 remain in hospitals.
http://www.thehindu.com/2008/08/15/stories/2008081561480300.htm
Karnataka - Bangalore
Prisoners protest
Staff Reporter
BANGALORE: Convicts and undertrials in the Bangalore Central Prison went on
a snap protest for nearly seven hours on Thursday. While the convicts
demanded premature release, the undertrials wanted the Government to solve
the problem of lack of personnel escort to take them to court.
Many of the inmates went on a hunger strike around noon. The convicts wanted
the State Government to take a decision on their premature release done
during the Independence Day. Additional Director-General of Police (Prisons)
Dharampal Negi went to the prison and held discussions with the inmates. He
assured them of addressing all the issues raised by the inmates.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/13/world/asia/13protest.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin
Chinese Religious Dissident Escapes From Police Custody
By ANDREW JACOBS
Published: August 12, 2008
BEIJING — Hua Huiqi, a religious dissident detained Sunday on his way to a
church service where President Bush was to worship, has escaped from police
custody, human rights advocates and family members said.
Mr. Hua, 46, slipped away from his guards on Sunday night, after they fell
asleep at a makeshift detention center, and immediately went into hiding,
according to relatives and an e-mail message that he sent to the
organization Human Rights in China.
Public security agents also seized his 52-year-old brother, Hua Huilin, as
the two rode their bicycles to the church, but he was released within hours.
The older Mr. Hua said that both men had been roughed up and warned that
their legs would be broken if they kept trying to attend services at Kuanjie
Protestant Church, an officially sanctioned congregation where Mr. Bush and
his family worshiped on Sunday morning.
The younger Mr. Hua, an advocate for religious freedom, is the pastor of a
“house church,” an underground congregation that operates outside China’s
tightly controlled religious bureaucracy. He has been arrested, jailed and
beaten several times.
His mother, Shuang Shuying, 78, is serving two years for “damaging
property,” sentenced last year after she used her cane to hit a car that
she said was swerving toward her. At that time she was seeking the release
of her son from an earlier detention. In recent years, relatives have sought
compensation for the demolition of their home to make way for a
redevelopment project.
Mr. Hua’s escape is sure to irritate the government when it is eager to keep
international attention focused on the Olympic Games. In recent days several
small demonstrations have occurred here, most of them orchestrated by
foreign activists to urge Tibetan independence. The police quickly broke
them up.
Last Thursday, three members of an American Christian advocacy group were
dragged away from Tiananmen Square after they held a prayer vigil and news
conference on religious freedom.
The Beijing Public Security Bureau declined to confirm if Mr. Hua was
detained. In a telephone interview on Monday, his brother said the police
had called him repeatedly, asking where Mr. Hua was. During the interview,
the line was disconnected five times, which the brother attributed to
monitoring by security agents.
Sharon Hom, the executive director of Human Rights in China, said Mr. Hua
had called its Hong Kong offices after his escape and asked staff members
there to publicize his plight. “He fears for his safety,” Ms. Hom said.
She said the detention of the brothers highlighted a contradiction between
the government’s claims of religious freedom and the reality experienced by
those who tried to worship outside state-run institutions. She cited
comments by Qin Gang, a Foreign Ministry spokesman, who insisted last week
that Chinese citizens had complete religious freedom. “This does not seem to
be the case of someone enjoying religious freedom,” she said.
Mr. Hua twice eluded surveillance on Sunday. The police had warned the
brothers not to leave the house, posting officers outside. At 1 a.m., the
two slipped out and cycled toward the church.
In the e-mail message to Human Rights in China, Mr. Hua said that shortly
after 6 a.m., seven or eight plainclothes officers pulled up in two cars,
yanked the brothers from their bikes and beat them. They were taken in
separate vehicles to an office near the church, he said.
Mr. Hua wrote that the officers had confiscated his Bible. But, after four
or five hours, the two guards fell asleep and Mr. Hua quietly walked away.
“But now, I’m afraid to go home,” he wrote.
In the past week, a dozen people, mostly Americans and Canadians from
Students for a Free Tibet, have been detained and deported after they
unfurled Tibetan flags or, in one case, staged a “die in” at Tiananmen
Square. In one protest, four activists hung a large banner that read “One
World One Dream Free Tibet” near the National Stadium.
John Hocevar, a group spokesman, said the authorities had been inconsistent.
At Tiananmen Square on Friday, four people splattered themselves with red
paint and lay down as a fifth shouted slogans for more than 10 minutes
before the police led them away. Later, he gave hours of interviews without
police intervention. But protesters could not pull out a banner on Saturday
before officers tackled them.
http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/mhgbsnojojkf/rss2/
Authorities probe causes of prison riot
13/07/2008 - 14:31:54
Two separate investigations were launched today into a riot that broke out
in Dublin’s Mountjoy Prison.
One prison officer had all of his teeth knocked out during the trouble after
inmates barricaded themselves into a recreation room, said the Prison
Officers Association (POA).
It has called for urgent talks with the Prison Service about yesterday’s
disturbance which it has blamed on overcrowding.
But the Prison Service insisted the violence, which ended in four warders
being injured, was down to the success of its enhanced security measures.
“It was purely and simply about contraband,” said a spokesman.
The jail remained tense today as gardaí moved in to carry out a technical
examination of the scene in D Wing as part of an assault and criminal damage
investigation.
The incident involving around 35 prisoners began late yesterday afternoon
and was ended only when a control and restraint unit stormed the area just
before 6pm after a two-hour stand off.
Prison bosses, including Governor John Lonergan, tried unsuccessfully to
talk the inmates out of the room, which they had barricaded with snooker
tables and chairs.
It took around 40 minutes for prison staff to reclaim the area, during which
time five prison officers were hurt and two inmates suffered minor injuries.
“One of our members had all of his teeth knocked out and he received damage
to the bridge of his nose,” said John Clinton of the POA.
“The other people hospitalised were due to inhalation injuries caused by
fire extinguishers that were set off at them.
“I’m quite certain that this was a planned event. Because the prisoners in
this area kept asking the staff on duty what time it was during the course
of the afternoon.”
Mr Clinton insisted the disturbance was primarily down to overcrowding at
the 158-year-old jail which is to be replaced by a new super-prison complex
at Thornton Hall in north Dublin.
“The POA firmly believe that overcrowding is the main contributory factor to
ongoing tensions,” he said.
“People should have seen this coming. We have been highlighting issues there
for a considerable time, and that an incident like this may take off.
“Unfortunately, we were proved correct.”
Overcrowding has been an issue at the prison which was designed to hold 420
and currently has almost 600 inmates, but the Prison Service were adamant
the protest was not about conditions.
It has launched its own investigation.
http://www.nationalpost.com/nationalpost/story.html?id=627201
Rioting gangs tear-gassed at Edmonton prison
Eight inmates stabbed, one shot in prison standoff
Trish Audette and Emily Senger, Canwest News Service Published: Wednesday,
July 02, 2008
Chris Schwarz/Canwest News Service A fire rages at Edmonton's maximum
security prison Tuesday night after inmates who rioted and took over the
yard.
EDMONTON -- While Canada Day fireworks were popping in the night sky over
Edmonton, guards were firing canisters of tear gas into a nearby prison,
bringing an end to a nine-hour standoff that saw eight inmates stabbed and
one shot by a guard.
Moments later, plumes of white smoke floated over the prison yard and a male
voice came over a speaker: "Put your hands behind your back."
It was the end of a violent day that apparently began with a clash between
rival prison gangs during a recreation period Tuesday afternoon at the
Edmonton Institution. It wasn't known Wednesday which gangs were involved.
The men were wielding homemade knives and eight of them were stabbed. One
inmate was shot by a guard, said Correctional Services of Canada spokesman
Rick Dhym.
"Warning shots were fired," said Mr. Dhym. "He refused to give up his weapon
and stop attacking another inmate."
Ground ambulances and a helicopter were called to the prison northwest of
Edmonton to transport the injured men to hospitals in the city.
About 40 inmates remained in the yard, refusing to go back to their cells.
Guards had only recovered three weapons at that point and were concerned
that some of the men still had knives, Mr. Dhym said.
Yells could be heard from outside the gates as guards attempted to negotiate
with the men.
At one point a man yelled, "Give us some f---ing water!"
The negotiations didn't work.
The inmates broke into a fenced off-area where nine cords of wood, enough to
fill the boxes of nine pickup trucks, were kept for an on-site ceremonial
sweat lodge.
By 10 p.m. local time, two fires were blazing in the yard and three fire
trucks were sitting in the prison parking lot on standby.
Inmates set the prison sweat lodge ablaze and guards shot six canisters of
tear gas into the yard about an hour later.
As flames shot further into the night sky, the firefighters could no longer
attack the blaze from above with aerial hoses, fire spokeswoman Nikki Booth
said.
A crew of four firefighters had to go into the yard.
"They had to unroll their hoses and get escorted in" by a tactical unit, Ms.
Booth said. "These are not situations that paramedics or firefighters
generally face."
After the tear gas ended the standoff, around 11:20 p.m. local time,
prisoners were taken from the yard one at a time, strip-searched for
weapons, washed down and returned to their cells, Mr. Dhym said.
The maximum security prison remained under lockdown Wednesday, as police and
correctional officers investigated what happened.
No prison staff members were injured during the incident.
Eight people were taken to hospitals Tuesday. Two were in critical
condition. Two more people were treated at hospital Wednesday for minor
injuries.
It is not clear what the inmates were trying to negotiate for.
Violent incidents are not uncommon in the maximum security prison, said
Kevin Grabowsky, regional president for the union that represents
correctional officers.
"Our gang problems are pretty serious. There's always a tension inside," he
said.
In June 2007, 60 inmates refused to go back into their cells and broke into
the sweat lodge area, burning the wood inside and some plastic chairs. In
2001, seven inmates were injured in a violent incident when 50 men refused
to re-enter their cells.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/metro/view/20080823-156437/Inmate-killed-another-hurt-in-Manila-City-Jail-riot
Inmate killed, another hurt in Manila City Jail riot
By Tina Santos
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 17:01:00 08/23/2008
MANILA, Philippines -- (UPDATE) An inmate at the Manila City Jail was killed
and another injured during a riot Saturday afternoon.
Eduardo Mandap, 28, of Interior 55 Raxabago Street, Tondo, was declared dead
on arrival at the Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center by Dr. Christopher
Mortos around 4:15 p.m., according to hospital security guard Ronald Osorio.
He suffered a gunshot wound in the nape.
Another inmate, Joey Saclao, 41, of E. Mapia Street, Tondo, was under
observation in the same hospital with a gunshot wound in the stomach.
A jail guard at the Manila City Jail, who declined to be identified for lack
of authority to speak to the press, confirmed that a riot broke out at
around 3:20 p.m.
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storyPage.aspx?storyId=125884
Youths run riot in Pasay City rehab center
Teenagers detained at Pasay City Youth Home, a rehabilitation center for
youth offenders, started rioting early Monday after a security guard tossed
tear gas at them.
Security guard Joey Lim said two teenagers locked themselves inside the
kitchen and threatened to open the LPG tank, which prompted him to throw
tear gas at them.
Some of the teenagers, however, said they just went downstairs to get water
when Lim started scolding them.
The incident prompted the teenagers to run riot and destroy chairs, window
panes and flourescent lamps inside the youth home. Some of the minors begged
to be moved out of the detention center because of the stench of tear gas.
The teenagers later quieted down upon the arrival of elements of Pasay City
Special Weapons And Tactics. The SWAT team also chastised the security guard
for throwing tear gas at the teens.
“They should immediately seek the help of the authorities. He shouldn’t have
thrown tear gas at the boys,” said Superintendent Marietto Valerio, Pasay
City Police chief.
The police said the Pasay City government should station more guards at the
youth center.
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