In South Ossetia, Minister of Justice fails to persuade prisoners to stop hunger strike

Prisoners will not stop the hunger strike until their demands to improve conditions of detention are fulfilled. This was claimed by prisoners of the Tskhinvali penal colony during the visit of Zalina Lalieva, South Ossetian Minister of Justice.

On July 11, it was reported that prisoners of the Tskhinvali penitentiary colony went on hunger strike.

The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports that the main demand of the prisoners is to extend window openings in cells. Another problem, according to the prisoners, is in a tight space for the time in the open air.

The prisoners also fear for introduction of restrictions on volume of transfers and reduction in the number of relatives' visits down to one per month.

Zalina Lalieva, South Ossetian Minister of Justice, has agreed with the prisoners that the conditions of detention in the penal colony do not correspond to either common or high-security regime.

In turn, the police reported that earlier, during the search in the cells, warders found mobile phones, homemade cutting items, and seeds, presumably, of hemp.

Zalina Lalieva, South Ossetian Minister of Justice, has told the prisoners that their conditions of detention are "many times better" than in the prisons of Russia. However, the Minister has promised that the number of relatives' visits will be increase and the conditions of detention will be reviewed.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.