[Onthebarricades] Prison and detention centre uprisings, Dec/Jan 07-08

[Andy]

*  UK:  Uprising by immigration detainees at Campsfield, one wing destroyed
*  ARGENTINA:  Thirty-three dead in fire as uprising sweeps provincial 
prison
*  BRAZIL:  Shootout after attempted escape kills several inmates
*  US:  Oklahoma inmates start uprising over discomfort
*  VENEZUELA:  Guards kill 15 as prisoners fight for control of facility; 
state blames paramilitaries
*  INDIA:  Maoist prisoners take over prison in protest over death of inmate
*  US:  Mohave County prisoners cause damage during unrest
*  US:  Mineral Wells private prison hit by three-hour uprising, guards 
pelted
*  INDIA/PUNJAB:  Prison uprising in Jalandhar follows hunger strike, abuse 
of Sikh prisoner
*  CYPRUS:  Asylum seekers hold rooftop protest at British base, demand 
passports
*  US:  Unrest at Lincoln County prison

http://www.oxfordmail.net/display.var.1911087.0.detainees_describe_riot.php

Detainees describe riot
By Matt Wilkinson
Police with riot shields and dogs near the detention centre

Detainees inside Campsfield House detention centre described the scale of 
the riot and the devastation caused.

The men said security cameras and lights were smashed in the centre's blue 
block, while toilets and showers were flooded.

And they said detainees had started fires by setting blankets alight in 
their rooms.

Speaking to the Oxford Mail from inside the centre, the men said the 
disturbance was sparked by the sudden removal of fellow detainee Davis 
Osagie.

They claimed officials entered his room at 5.23am to forcibly remove 
African-born Mr Osagie from his bed. One of his roommates, who asked not to 
be named, said: "He was on the top bunk of the bed and they dragged him 
down.

"About five officers were holding us down, preventing us from interfering. 
They just came running in like in the movies.

"I was scared because I did not know what was going on. He was screaming. 
After they took him away forcefully everyone was angry.

"It just escalated from there. There was a confrontation with the officers. 
There was just anger. It's not calm and I don't think it will be calm now 
because people are still angry.

"There are no lights, the toilets have been flooded and the cameras have 
been broken."

He added the rioting lasted for about 20 minutes and involved dozens of 
people.

He said Mr Osagie had been working as an immigration officer at Edinburgh 
Airport before the authorities realised his own paperwork was not in order.

The detainees said Mr Osagie, originally from Benin, had been held in 
Campsfield for three months and had a two-year-old daughter and a pregnant 
fiancée living in Edinburgh.

A 39-year-old fellow detainee added: "Early this morning somebody was 
shouting and screaming.

"This man was being dragged, kicking. There is blood all over the floor. 
People are trying to pull this place down.

"There's no lighting, there's flooding - that's the reaction to what 
happened this morning.

"Everybody is angry. It has not stopped. For every action there is a 
reaction. I think almost everybody was involved.

"There was fire. They were setting fire to the blankets. They smashed the 
cameras. They turned the place upside down."

Tonight, the Home Office said two of the three wings at Campsfield were 
fully operational. But inmates in the wing affected by the riot would be 
moved to other centres.

Eight detainees are still missing after escaping from Campsfield House 
during a riot four months ago.

Three of the runaways served jail terms for robbery, drugs offences and 
growing cannabis and appeared on Crimestoppers UK Most Wanted list.

Twenty-six detainees fled the centre after escaping during a fire in August. 
Police arrested 12 in the immediate hours afterwards. Three more were found 
days later.

The Home Office said tonight that remaining escapees were still missing.

7:18pm Monday 17th December 2007

http://www.crawleyobserver.co.uk/latest-south-east-news/Immigration-centre-riot-after-detainees.3597309.jp

Immigration centre riot after detainees 'went wild'

Detainees at an Oxfordshire immigration centre "went wild" on Monday after 
security guards in riot gear removed an inmate from his cell, campaigners 
said.
Police and fire services were called to Campsfield House near Kidlington 
after reports of a disturbance in the early hours.

Supporters from the Campaign to Close Campsfield said that "a handful" of 
detainees had broken CCTV cameras and light fittings, flooded toilets and 
set fire to blankets.

They said the violence erupted shortly after 5.20am when ten officers 
entered the cell of Davis Osagie in Blue Block.

Campaigner Bob Hughes said: "They told me that the guards did not give the 
man a chance to go quietly. Ten men in riot gear walked straight in at 
5.20am and almost went straight in with boots and fists."

A handful of detainees "went wild and broke things", he said.

He said that detainees reported that the building was now cold with water 
everywhere
and some men had not eaten breakfast and were all confined in their rooms 
"too
exhausted" to create any more trouble.

The centre holds 218 male detainees and was converted in 1993 to hold 
immigrants awaiting deportation. It has been the subject of a campaign to 
close it for many years.

In March this year nine people were taken to hospital suffering smoke 
inhalation after violence broke out and fires were set. Months later, in 
August, 26 men broke out after starting fires. Police recaptured 12 men the 
following day but some still remain at large.

A Border and Immigration Agency spokesman said: "The Prison Service and 
police have assisted the Border and Immigration Agency by securing the 
perimeter which has not been breached. GEO, who run the site, have asked the 
Prison Service for assistance, and a number of specially-trained prison 
officers have been sent to Campsfield."

http://www.oxfordmail.net/news/headlines/display.var.1913964.0.murder_led_to_campsfield_riot.php

'Murder' led to Campsfield riot
By Andrew Ffrench
Comment | Read Comments (5)

Detainees rioted at Campsfield House detention centre in Kidlington because 
they mistakenly believed that one immigrant had been murdered.

Bob Hughes, a spokesman for the Campaign to Close Campsfield, said the 
"explosion of anger" on Monday morning was due to a "firm belief" among many 
inmates that Davis Osagie, originally from Benin in West Africa, had been 
murdered by prison officers.

An assessment is now being carried out by the Home Office after the centre's 
CCTV system was broken and part of the 'fabric' of the building was damaged.

Calm has now been restored at the centre and 128 inmates have been been 
moved to other centres.

Two out of three wings at the centre, which holds 215 detainees, are fully 
operational.

Mr Hughes, who is in close contact with detainees, said: "Detainees were 
awakened by his (Osagie's) screams and shouts of 'murder!'.

"When they tried to open their room doors to investigate, they found they 
had been locked in.

"Some men are said to have kicked their doors down in order to get to 
Osagie's assistance. "After the immediate panic had subsided, guards 
unlocked the rooms, assuring inmates that it was all over and there was 
nothing to worry about.

"Then detainees noticed a lot of blood in the corridor, where Osagie had 
been taken, assumed the worst, and the trouble started in earnest."

Mr Hughes said some of the detainees from Campsfield have been transferred 
to Colnbrook, a detention centre near Heathrow Airport.

No-one from GEO, the private security firm running Campsfield, was available 
for comment.

Vida Bromby-Tavenner, a spokesman for the Home Office, declined to confirm 
where detainees had been taken.

She added: "All transfers of detainees following the incident have been 
completed.

"Detainees affected will be transferred to other secure accommodation in the 
Border and Immigration Agency and Prison Service estates."

5:54pm Tuesday 18th December 2007

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5g5_tEAbhCYIF4xg6PBn_BNbgX6lA

Thirty-three dead in Argentine prison riot
Nov 5, 2007
BUENOS AIRES (AFP) - Thirty-three inmates were killed and 20 people, 
including prison guards, were injured in a riot and subsequent fire at a 
northern Argentine jail, officials said.
A fire swept through the prison on Sunday after the inmates, protesting 
their detention conditions, started setting their mattresses on fire.
Officials said 33 prisoners died of burns and asphyxiation and another 20 
inmates and guards were injured.
A judge visited the prison following the incident and authorities said they 
were investigating whether the riot was staged to cover up an escape bid or 
to support demands by the prisoners.
The Santiago del Estero provincial prison, some 800 kilometers (500 miles) 
northwest of Buenos Aires, holds about 500 inmates.
Sunday's was the worst prison riot since October 2005, when 33 inmates were 
killed in Buenos Aires' provincial Magdalena prison.
In February, the Supreme Court ordered the government to improve jail 
conditions in western Mendoza province, after human rights groups complained 
about the death of 17 inmates during a riot there in 2004.

http://www.thestar.com/News/article/277541

5 inmates dead after botched prison escape
Nov 18, 2007 11:00 AM
Associated Press

SAO PAULO, Brazil - A botched prison escape led to a riot and a shootout 
with police that left five inmates dead and 70 injured in northeastern 
Brazil, authorities said Sunday.
The prisoners tried to break free from the overcrowded Maceio Detention 
Center in the northeastern state of Alagoas on Saturday, police Lt. Daniele 
Assuncao said by telephone.
A shootout with police followed and inmates burned mattresses and damaged 
objects inside their cells. Authorities negotiated an end to the riot after 
about five hours.
Police were investigating how the prisoners smuggled guns into the detention 
centre.
The prison - which holds both convicts and suspects awaiting trial - was 
built to hold 40 prisoners but had nearly 300 at the time of the riot, 
according to the Folha Online news service.
Riots are common at Brazil's often-overcrowded prisons.

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/144347.html

7 killed in prison riot, 70 injured
Posted : Mon, 19 Nov 2007 08:56:04 GMT
Author : IANS
Category : World

Sao Paulo, Nov 19 - At least 7 people were killed and more than 70 injured 
when prisoners fought with the armed guards after a jailbreak attempt in 
Maceio, the capital of Brazil's northeastern state of Alagoas, Spanish news 
agency EFE reported quoting local media.
Seven of the injured were said to be in serious condition.
The riot started Saturday after guards swung into action and tried to 
prevent the escaping inmates.
The police, supported by its Special Operation Battalion, was called in to 
put down the riot when the number of rioters swelled and spread to other 
parts of the jail.
The jail facility, which has the capacity for 250 inmates, currently houses 
290 prisoners who are awaiting trial.
The jail administration said the inmates set fire to the prison buildings 
and destroyed furniture and other items.
An investigation into the causes of the death of inmates has been initiated, 
it said.

http://www.kswo.com/Global/story.asp?S=7434467

Caddo County inmates uncomfortable, start riot

Posted: Nov 30, 2007 11:14 PM
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Caddo County inmates uncomfortable, start riot

Lawton_Some Oklahoma state inmates started a disturbance inside the 
jailhouse in Caddo County Thursday night.  A number of small fires were set 
and the toilets were stuffed flooding the top floor of the jail in the Caddo 
County Courthouse.  County Sheriff Gene Cain says four inmates waiting for 
transfer started the riot.  They said they were upset because they had yet 
to be transferred to a Department of Corrections Facility.
No one was hurt but officials say it got pretty intense.  It happened just 
after 8:30pm and Sheriff Cain says this is the type of thing they expect in 
crowded conditions, which aren't expected to change any times soon.  A tax 
hike election to build a new jail failed just two weeks ago.
Once the disturbance began, prison clothing was stuffed into toilets 
flooding the jail and security cameras caught a fire started in one of the 
cells.  Cain says it's the crowded conditions that caused the mess.  "They 
get to fighting amongst themselves - discontent.  One gets to sleep in the 
bed and the other on the floor; it causes all kinds of problems," he says.
The overflowing toilets soaked inmate's mattresses and leaked into the 
kitchen pantry below.  Cain says they were burning anything they could get 
their hands on - books, bibles, and letters.  He says officers and their 
back up were able to bring everything back under control and everyone in the 
immediate area was detained in another area while a cleanup was underway. 
All were back in their cells by 11:30pm.
Cain says whenever you have jail crowding, you can expect this to happen. 
It's just a part of it," he says.  "You don't like it.  It's just one of the 
things we have to put up with - thankfully it came out no one was hurt and 
not that much damage.  Cain says at least 15 inmates had to be moved to 
other areas of the jail while their cells were being cleaned and repaired. 
But, for the most part, everything is back to normal.
The Caddo County Jail is working to get the four who started the melee 
transferred a quickly as possible.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/12/09/america/LA-GEN-Venezuela-Prison-Riot.php

15 killed in prison riot in Venezuela

The Associated Press
Published: December 9, 2007

CARACAS, Venezuela: A riot in a Venezuelan prison left at least 15 inmates 
dead and 12 injured as prisoners fought for control of the facility, the 
justice minister said.
The clashes broke out Saturday in a prison in the southwestern city of San 
Cristobal, near the Colombian border, Justice Minister Pedro Carreno told 
reporters. Police and national guard troops have restored order, he said.
Carreno said the violence broke out after one group of prisoners took 
visiting relatives hostage. He blamed it on a group of imprisoned 
paramilitary fighters, the Venezuelan newspaper El Nacional reported Sunday.
The same group is believed responsible for the killings of the prison 
director and his deputy months ago, Carreno said.
Violence is common in Venezuela's overcrowded and understaffed prisons. The 
watchdog group Venezuelan Prisons Observatory said there have been about 800 
killed in the country's prisons in the last two years.

http://www.hindu.com/2007/12/19/stories/2007121961991500.htm

Maoist prisoners protest death of inmate

- Photo: Ranjeet Kumar

Up in arms: Prisoners demonstrate inside the Beur Central Jail in Patna on 
Tuesday.


PATNA: Over 350 Maoists lodged in the high-security Beur jail here went on 
the rampage on Tuesday and clashed with securitymen and other inmates, 
demanding stern action against the jail authorities after a fellow prisoner 
allegedly committed suicide in the jail hospital.

Nagina Manjhi, a resident of naxalite-affected Gaya district, reportedly 
committed suicide on December 14 by hanging himself in the jail hospital.

Enraged at the incident, the naxalites, belonging to the CPI (Maoist), 
demanded action against the jail authorities, including jail superintendent 
and jailors, for alleged lapse on their part which led to Manjhi's death, 
official sources said.

In a bid to pressure the other 800 inmates to support them, the Maoists 
vandalised the kitchen in the jail and poured water on stoves and food 
items.
The situation was brought under control after the district administration 
rushed in CRPF, CISF and Special Auxiliary Police contingents.

The naxalites were allegedly led by one of their top commanders Ajay Kanu 
who had allegedly masterminded the jailbreak at Jehanabad in which the 
Maoist rebels helped over 300 inmates escape in November 2005.

The naxalites then began a fast even as senior officials, including 
Director-General of Police Ashish Ranjan Sinha and IG (Prisons) Sandip 
Poundrik, tried to persuade them to go inside their wards and cells.

"We are negotiating with the agitators and everything is under control," Mr. 
Poundrik said. - PTI

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Maoists_riot_in_Beur_prison/articleshow/2632349.cms

 Maoists riot in Beur prison
19 Dec 2007, 0000 hrs IST,Dipak Mishra & Sanjeev Kumar Verma,TNN

PATNA: A day after Maoists freed 110 of their comrades from Chhattisgarh's 
Dantewada jail on Sunday night, Bihar's Beur jail witnessed protests as 
300-odd inmates - mostly left-wing extremists - virtually took charge of the 
prison on the outskirts of Patna for nearly eight hours on Tuesday.

A rattled administration ordered police action inside the prison, with more 
than 400 cops being sent in to quell the mobs. Equipped with guns, lathis 
and tear gas shells, the cops pushed and shoved the trouble-makers back into 
their cells.

"We didn't use force; it was just a display of force," IG (prisons) Sandip 
Paundrik later said, and claimed the administration had at no point "lost 
control of the prison". The drama began early, around 6.30 am, when 150-odd 
inmates on hunger strike demanding action against officials responsible for 
the recent suicide by Maoist inmate Nagina Manjhi, stormed into the jail's 
five kitchens and poured water on the stoves. They then sat on a dharna in 
the open field calling for senior officials to come for talks. In the 
process, they roughed up securitymen and even hounded them away.

Around 10 am, IG (prisons), Patna DM and SSP arrived. The agitators demanded 
a judicial probe into the death of Manjhi, who hanged himself in the prison 
on December 14. They also wanted action against the jail superintendent 
besides Rs 5 lakh as compensation for Manjhi's kin. "We told them a judicial 
probe is on, and action will be taken against jail officials on the basis of 
its report. We also assured them that we will write for compensation to 
Manjhi's family," Paundrik said. Most agitating inmates then agreed to call 
off the protest.

But a few prisoners raised fresh demands such as permission for food from 
outside the jail and an increase in the number of visitors. "We told them 
that only reasonable demands will be accepted," Paundrik said. Meanwhile, 
police vans and jeeps carrying armed forces kept coming in at regular 
intervals. Soon, the premises resembled an army cantonment as machine-gun 
wielding jawans took position outside the jail. The administration gave 
agitators time up to 2 pm to return to their wards. Around 2.30 pm, the 
forces were pushed inside. And at 3 pm, the administration invited 
mediapersons to the superintendent's office to brief them about "normalcy 
inside the jail".

http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20070036251&ch=12/18/2007%204:34:00%20PM

Beur Jail called back in order
Tuesday, December 18, 2007 (Patna)
Patna's Beur Central Jail was taken over by its inmates for a few hours on 
Tuesday to protest against the poor living conditions and death of a sick 
inmate, who was allegedly driven to suicide by the jail authorities.

Around 300 security personnel were called in to control the situation.

Earlier in the day inmates were lathicharged by jail security after they 
broke utensils in the jail kitchen. Tension gripped the high profile 
facility as Naxal inmates went on a hunger strike alleging they are not 
being treated well.

40-year old Nagina Manjhi, a notorious criminal and an active member of the 
outlawed Maoist outfit in Gaya district, was found dead hanging from an iron 
gate of the Beur Jail infirmary where he was being treated for some minor 
ailment.

Inmates have said he was not given adequate medical attention. Search 
operations in the jail have been stepped up after Sunday's daring jailbreak 
in Chattisgarh's Dantewada area.

Beur jail houses some top naxal leaders including Ajay Kanu who was 
rearrested after the 2005 Jehanabad jailbreak.

http://www.mohavedailynews.com/articles/2007/12/16/news/local/local5.txt

Bullhead City man faces new charges after jail riot

By JIM SECKLER/The Daily News

Saturday, December 15, 2007 10:30 PM CST

KINGMAN - A Bullhead City man and his accomplice were indicted on new felony 
charges after allegedly rioting at the county jail.

A Mohave County grand jury indicted Santiago Fidel Sanchez, 22, of Bullhead 
City and Manuel Macias Ortega, 30, Indian Springs, Nev., for riot, criminal 
damage and destruction to public jail. Ortega is also charged with felony 
escape.

Sanchez and Ortega are expected to be arranged Dec. 28 before Superior Court 
Judge Robert Moon. Sanchez is being held in jail on two separate bonds at 
$7,500 each.

On the night of Dec. 6, Mohave County sheriff's deputies were called to the 
county jail in Kingman after the inmates became unruly and uncooperative 
during the evening meal. Sanchez and Ortega allegedly damaged lights, 
windows, the main pod door and stopped up their toilets. About 35 inmates in 
C pod were locked down during the incident. No injuries were reported.

Sanchez has been in custody on charges of aggravated assault and influencing 
a witness in one case and aggravated harassment, threatening and influencing 
a witness in a second case. Ortega has been in custody on charges of 
unlawful flight, kidnapping, aggravated assault, vehicle theft and 
trafficking in stolen property.

http://www.mineralwellsindex.com/local/local_story_002093349.html

#9 - Another prison riot
While the inmates at Corrections Corporation of America's pre-parole 
facility didn't attempt to escape on Aug. 12, debris - from rocks to a 
toaster - rained down on law enforcement as they maintained a perimeter 
during an evening riot.

The riot, according to the facility's public information officer Rose 
Thompson, began when a "small group of inmates [were] unhappy with a 
recently communicated reinforcement of a standard policy requiring inmates 
to wear T-shirts while on the outside recreation yard."

The melee lasted approximately three hours, drawing to a close when two 
Special Operations Response Teams from CCA reportedly used chemical agents 
to subdue approximately two dozen inmates who refused to comply.

They "identified approximately 36 inmates who admitted to participating in 
property destruction or refusing to return from the recreation yard to the 
housing units.," Thompson had said, while an unknown number of those 
offenders are expected to be transferred to other facilities in the state.

Law enforcement from several agencies including the Mineral Wells Police 
Department, the Palo Pinto County Sheriff's Department, Parker County 
Sheriff's Department and the Texas Department of Public Safety responded to 
the scene.

http://www.indianmuslims.info/news/2008/jan/08/magisterial_probe_ordered_jalandhar_prison_riot.html

Magisterial probe ordered into Jalandhar prison riot
Submitted by Tarique on Tue, 01/08/2008 - 15:56. Crime/Terrorism

By IANS

Jalandhar : A day after prisoners went on a rampage inside the Jalandhar 
central jail here, the district administration Tuesday ordered a magisterial 
probe into the rioting and sought a report within a week.

An uneasy calm prevailed in the prison complex, located in a congested 
residential area of this city, following the rioting by inmates who not only 
took control of the prison but also set a portion of it on fire following a 
clash with jail officials.

Hundreds of relatives of prisoners arrived from all over Punjab Tuesday upon 
hearing of the rampage to ask about their jailed kins' well-being.

Punjab's Director General of Police for prisons Izhar Alam also inspected 
the prison complex Tuesday with senior officials.

On Monday, the prison department suspended jail superintendent Satpal, who 
was accused of getting the hair of a Sikh prisoner shorn for not falling in 
line with his diktats, triggering resentment among the prisoners.

Prison inmates went on a hunger-strike Monday morning, which led to a clash 
with jail officials. The agitated prisoners took control of the prison 
complex and set a portion of it on fire and damaged other buildings and 
property.

For nearly three hours, the jail was under the control of prisoners though 
none could escape as armed contingents of the Punjab police surrounded it 
from all sides.

The police had to fire in the air and tear-gas the prisoners.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7175369.stm

Prisoners riot in northern India
By Jyotsna Singh
BBC News, Delhi

A prisoner adds fuel to the flames

Hundreds of prisoners have rioted for several hours in the main jail in 
India's northern city of Jalandhar, in Punjab state.

Officials said the prisoners were protesting against the alleged 
high-handedness of the staff.

Around 1,500 prisoners went on the rampage, smashing windows, doors and 
furniture. They also set fire to the hospital and kitchen.

Police said the protesters also threw stones at prison officials.

'Situation brewing'

One prisoner was injured and the police had to use tear gas and 
baton-charges to bring the situation under control.

The rioting broke out on Monday morning soon after the prisoners began a 
hunger strike demanding immediate action against the jail authorities, 
accusing some of them of mistreating prisoners.

"The situation was brewing up for a few days. The prisoners had a number of 
complaints including lack of proper food and medicine," a senior policeman, 
Arpit Shukla told the BBC.

Mr Shukla said the superintendent of the jail had been suspended.

One Sikh prisoner, he said, had accused a jail officer of pulling out some 
of his hair.

Police said the situation had been brought under control and the prisoners 
had gone back to their cells.

Mr Shukla said there were reports that some prisoners had attempted to take 
advantage of the melee to try to get away.

"Jallandhar prison is one of the most secure prisons so nobody was able to 
escape," Mr Shukla said.

A detailed investigation into the incident has already been ordered.

It comes after nearly 300 communist rebels and their supporters escaped from 
a prison in the central state of Chhattisgarh in an armed jailbreak less 
than a month ago.

India's jails are overcrowded. The excruciatingly slow pace of justice is 
often blamed for this, as thousands of people are kept behind bars awaiting 
trials.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUKL1451457520080114

Asylum seekers in UK base standoff end protest
Mon Jan 14, 2008 7:07pm GMT

NICOSIA (Reuters) - Seven Iraqis who had barricaded themselves on a roof at 
a British base in Cyprus to demand British passports ended their protest on 
Monday, authorities said.

The asylum seekers had been holed up on the top of a 14-metre (45 ft) 
training tower in the western sovereign base of Episkopi from Jan 9, 
threatening to jump.

"The protesters came down this evening on their own free will," a spokesman 
for the British bases said. "I think they understand we cannot do anything 
for their requirements."

The men had entered British sovereign territory in Cyprus between 2001 and 
2003 via Turkish held northern Cyprus, an unrecognised Turkish Cypriot 
state.

Britain's border and immigration service had assessed their applications 
which were recently rejected. Since their arrival on the island they had 
been staying at a British accommodation facility, but were evicted on 
Monday.

During the protest, one of the men injured himself with a roof tile and 
another came down willingly -- only to clandestinely re-enter the building 
on Sunday with food supplies for the other protesters. An eighth man, an 
Iranian, was arrested on Sunday.

Britain has two military bases in Cyprus. The Mediterranean island was a 
British colony until 1960.

(Editing by Ibon Villelabeitia)

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-01/15/content_7422813.htm

Iraqi asylum seekers end protest at British base in Cyprus

    NICOSIA, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- Seven Iraqi protesters who seek asylum 
ended their six-day demonstration at a British military base in southern 
Cyprus on Monday.

    The asylum seekers climbed down a 14-meter fire service tower, from 
where they had threatened to throw themselves off unless they got British 
passports.

    Local media reported that the British base authorities succeeded in 
starving the seven down instead of the use of force.

    The Iraqis had reportedly sneaked into the base from the Turkish 
Cypriot-controlled north eight years ago. Another Iranian man with them was 
seized on Saturday when he left the tower for food and attempted to rejoin 
the seven.

    They claimed the British bases authorities initially promised they would 
be granted British passports, but the British authorities clarified that 
they should apply for asylum to the Republic of Cyprus.

    The asylum seekers have reportedly left the base after calling off the 
protest.

    Britain, the island's former colonial ruler, has retained two sovereign 
military bases in southern Cyprus since its independence in 1960.

http://www.koat.com/news/15049035/detail.html

Detention Center Riot Investigation Continues

POSTED: 5:39 pm MST January 14, 2008
UPDATED: 6:13 pm MST January 14, 2008

LINCOLN COUNTY, N.M. -- Investigators are looking into why prisoners started 
rioting at the Lincoln County Detention Center Sunday night.

Sheriff deputies told Action 7 News that six inmates started the riot in a 
pod that houses 28 inmates.

Deputies said that the inmates vandalized part of their pod before they were 
able to take charge.

Deputies used tear gas to calm the inmates down about an hour after the riot 
began.

The sheriff said that the department will press charges against the six 
inmates who started the riot.

There were no major injuries during the incident.