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Russia

Russian Police Injured In Prison Disturbance

Inmates stand on a roof of Prison No. 6 in Kopeysk with a sign that says, "The [prison] administration extorts money and tortures us."
1/8 Inmates stand on a roof of Prison No. 6 in Kopeysk with a sign that says, "The [prison] administration extorts money and tortures us."
An inmate protest against harsh prison conditions in Russia's Chelyabinsk region turned into a full-scale uprising over the weekend. Convicts accused prison authorities of extortion and torture, and families and other supporters of the inmates gathered outside Prison No. 6 in Kopeysk. Russian authorities said they eventually quelled the unrest, but not before bloody clashes between police and the crowd outside resulted in 38 arrests, local media said.
Media, relatives, and friends of inmates gather in front of the prison.
2/8 Media, relatives, and friends of inmates gather in front of the prison.
An inmate protest against harsh prison conditions in Russia's Chelyabinsk region turned into a full-scale uprising over the weekend. Convicts accused prison authorities of extortion and torture, and families and other supporters of the inmates gathered outside Prison No. 6 in Kopeysk. Russian authorities said they eventually quelled the unrest, but not before bloody clashes between police and the crowd outside resulted in 38 arrests, local media said.
Police cordon off the area around the Kopeysk prison after the rebellion by inmates broke out on November 24.
3/8 Police cordon off the area around the Kopeysk prison after the rebellion by inmates broke out on November 24.
An inmate protest against harsh prison conditions in Russia's Chelyabinsk region turned into a full-scale uprising over the weekend. Convicts accused prison authorities of extortion and torture, and families and other supporters of the inmates gathered outside Prison No. 6 in Kopeysk. Russian authorities said they eventually quelled the unrest, but not before bloody clashes between police and the crowd outside resulted in 38 arrests, local media said.
A group of inmates stands on a rooftop inside the prison. Two of the signs read, "We are 1,500 human beings!"
4/8 A group of inmates stands on a rooftop inside the prison. Two of the signs read, "We are 1,500 human beings!"
An inmate protest against harsh prison conditions in Russia's Chelyabinsk region turned into a full-scale uprising over the weekend. Convicts accused prison authorities of extortion and torture, and families and other supporters of the inmates gathered outside Prison No. 6 in Kopeysk. Russian authorities said they eventually quelled the unrest, but not before bloody clashes between police and the crowd outside resulted in 38 arrests, local media said.
5/8
An inmate protest against harsh prison conditions in Russia's Chelyabinsk region turned into a full-scale uprising over the weekend. Convicts accused prison authorities of extortion and torture, and families and other supporters of the inmates gathered outside Prison No. 6 in Kopeysk. Russian authorities said they eventually quelled the unrest, but not before bloody clashes between police and the crowd outside resulted in 38 arrests, local media said.
6/8
An inmate protest against harsh prison conditions in Russia's Chelyabinsk region turned into a full-scale uprising over the weekend. Convicts accused prison authorities of extortion and torture, and families and other supporters of the inmates gathered outside Prison No. 6 in Kopeysk. Russian authorities said they eventually quelled the unrest, but not before bloody clashes between police and the crowd outside resulted in 38 arrests, local media said.
Police officers in riot gear cordon off the prison, with protesting inmates in the background.
7/8 Police officers in riot gear cordon off the prison, with protesting inmates in the background.
An inmate protest against harsh prison conditions in Russia's Chelyabinsk region turned into a full-scale uprising over the weekend. Convicts accused prison authorities of extortion and torture, and families and other supporters of the inmates gathered outside Prison No. 6 in Kopeysk. Russian authorities said they eventually quelled the unrest, but not before bloody clashes between police and the crowd outside resulted in 38 arrests, local media said.
A car caught in the melee outside the prison has a shattered window reportedly broken by a police baton.
8/8 A car caught in the melee outside the prison has a shattered window reportedly broken by a police baton.
An inmate protest against harsh prison conditions in Russia's Chelyabinsk region turned into a full-scale uprising over the weekend. Convicts accused prison authorities of extortion and torture, and families and other supporters of the inmates gathered outside Prison No. 6 in Kopeysk. Russian authorities said they eventually quelled the unrest, but not before bloody clashes between police and the crowd outside resulted in 38 arrests, local media said.
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At least eight members of the Russian Interior Ministry's special police force, OMON, have been injured trying to restore order at a prison in Chelyabinsk in the Ural Mountains.

Details of what happened at the Kopeysk prison remain sketchy.

The press service for the local branch of the Interior Ministry said some 250 prisoners were able to reach the rooftops of some prison buildings late on November 24 and stage a protest.

The protesters were reportedly demanding the release of a group of prisoners from a special punishment cell.

Some of the prisoners held up banners that read "People, help."

Some 300 of the prisoners' relatives and former inmates gathered outside the prison walls and also staged a protest. Some of those outside the prison reportedly screamed obscenities and threw bottles at police who arrived to disperse the crowd.

Police detained 38 people outside the prison and said most of those taken into custody were drunk.

Situation Under Control

Human rights activist Oksana Trufanova told the Ekho Moskvy radio station that OMON troops attacked the group outside the prison. "They beat us with batons," Trufanova said. "Their eyes were shining. I have never been in such mayhem."

The local branch of the Interior Ministry denied OMON troops had beaten anyone. Some 250 police officers remain at the scene and the situation inside and outside the prison was reported to be under control.

Rights organizations said there had been complaints about the abuse of prisoners at the facility.

Lev Ponomarev, the head of the For Human Rights movement, described Chelyabinsk as a "hot spot" and said local prosecutors had not reacted to complaints from inmates at the Kopeysk prison.

Ponomaryov said that in 2008 four inmates at Kopeysk died after being beaten.

There are more than 700,000 inmates in Russian prisons.

Based on reporting by ITAR-TASS, Interfax, and Reuters
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