BISHKEK - The situation in Kyrgyz penitentiaries did not change over the past day, the Kyrgyz State Penitentiary Service told Interfax on Thursday.
All was quiet at penitentiaries and detention centers at night, it said. "The only difference is that the parents of some inmates and human rights activists visited the first detention center of the capital city to speak to the inmates," it said.
The number of inmates who had stitched their mouths in protest (1,197) did not change.
The inmates demand that every penitentiary must have at least one cell whose inmates are free to move around.
If the demand is rejected, they say their families and friends will also stitch their mouths in public or start rallies near the buildings of the parliament and the government.
Riots and protests in Kyrgyz prisons and penitentiaries started in the beginning of this year, and the prison authorities’ response was harsh. The State Penitentiary Service said that the inmates had the right to go on a hunger strike and no one was going to force them to eat.
