Uzbek, Tajik Inmates Reportedly Riot Over 'Tortured' Comrade

Uzbek and Tajik inmates in a penal colony in Russia's Siberian city of Omsk say they rioted on May 13, demanding investigations into the death of a jailed migrant worker from Tajikistan.

The inmates told RFE/RL that some 100 prisoners from Central Asia -- mainly Uzbeks and Tajiks -- took part in the riot in Penal Colony No. 6.

They say an inmate from Tajikistan, Bekhzod Otaboboev, was tortured to death by prison guards.

Penitentiary authorities deny both the torture and the riot.

However, the inmates told RFE/RL that following the riot, which they say lasted for several hours, the penal colony's administration agreed to transfer inmates from Central Asia from so-called "adaptation blocks," where they say prisoners are mistreated by guards, to regular barracks.