AP News, October 17th, 2007
A revolt at a Russian prison for minors swelled into a mass uprising that left two people dead and buildings gutted before guards and riot police restored order, officials said Wednesday.
The unrest started late Tuesday when a group of inmates tried to break through a fence at the prison in the Sverdlovsk region in the Ural Mountains. Guards first fired a warning shot but then fired directly at prisoners after coming under attack, said Eduard Petrukhin, deputy director of the federal prison service.
One prisoner was killed, and a guard also died in the rampage, he said. Thirteen people were injured, including six guards.
More prisoners then joined the uprising, setting several buildings on fire and breaking windows. Eventually nearly half the prison's inmates, some 250 people, took part, Petrukhin said.
The RIA-Novosti news agency quoted regional prison service spokeswoman Yelena Tishchenko as saying the prisoner was killed when a guard fired at inmates trying to break through the fence. The report did not indicate that she mentioned a warning shot or an attack on guards.
Television images showed flames engulfing buildings in the middle of night and police in riot gear marching in. The riot lasted about four hours.
Eduard Rossel, governor of the Sverdlovsk region, expressed gratitude to the riot police, saying they prevented dangerous prisoners from escaping, Channel One television reported.
Twenty prisoners who slipped away in the melee were all tracked down, according to TV reports.
Deputy Justice Minister Alexander Savenkov said the uprising had probably been planned, because it occurred while women were guarding the compound, the Interfax news agency reported.
