Ombudsman Lukin: Hunger strike
over in the Kopeisk prison
Interfax
November 27, 2012
MOSCOW. Nov 27 (Interfax) - The situation at Prison No.6 in
Kopeisk near Chelyabinsk, and in the region as a whole, has
returned to normal, Russian human rights commissioner Vladimir
Lukin told Interfax.
"We have just talked with our colleagues who said that
all prisoners have started accepting meals and voluntarily
gathered for a roll-call," Lukin said on Tuesday.
Law enforcement officials earlier denied reports that inmates
had gone on a hunger strike, but human rights activists claimed
some of the inmates had rejected food.
Lukin said that activists from public oversight commissions,
some of whom had been denied access to inmates earlier, have
been allowed to enter the prison.
"So, the situation has normalized on the whole, but
we continue working," he said.
"Complaints have been received from inmates' relatives
about attempted extortion," Lukin said.
Some of the prison personnel complain about low wages. There
are other overdue problems that need to be settled. So our
representatives continue working there," Lukin said.
