200 inmates on hunger strike in Herat

HERAT CITY (Pajhwok): More than 200 prisoners have been on hunger strike at the central jail in western Herat province since Wednesday to protest what they alleged their mistreatment by jail officials.

A number of inmates told Pajhwok Afghan News on Thursday over the telephone that prisoners held at the sixth block of the jail in Herat City were denying food since Wednesday morning.

They accused jail officials of not treating them equally. Some inmates were kept in comfortable places in the 10th block against bribes and the poor ones remained in terrible conditions, they said.

They claimed some inmates were not allowed to meet their relatives and others unnecessarily tortured.

Police spokesman Abdul Rauf Ahmadi confirmed the hunger strike and said the striking prisoners were refusing to allow officials to examine their living condition.

He said some prisoners were against checking their cells and it was a known fact that prisoners had escaped through digging holes.

Ahmadi rejected the claim that officials mistreated the inmates. He said the police chief took notice of the issue and visited the jail to investigate the matter.

It was for the third time in as many months that prisoners in Herat have gone on hunger strike giving different reasons for their strike.

nh/ma

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