Caravanserai
Terrorism

Tajikistan to build new prison for terrorists

Caravanserai

Twenty-nine Tajik inmates, including 24 members of "Islamic State" (IS), and three guards were killed in a prison riot May 20 in Vakhdat. [File]

Twenty-nine Tajik inmates, including 24 members of "Islamic State" (IS), and three guards were killed in a prison riot May 20 in Vakhdat. [File]

DUSHANBE -- Tajik authorities are planning to build a new jail for convicted terrorists.

The jail will better enable authorities to control such inmates and prevent riots or jailbreaks, Mansurjon Umarov, chief of the Justice Ministry's penal system, said Wednesday (November 20) while addressing the Penitentiary Forum in Dushanbe.

Building the facility "ought to solve all issues causing concern, provide security for convicts and prevent cases of mass disorder, murders and propagation of extremist ideas," he said.

Relevant agencies are working with trained architects, taking into consideration all international standards, according to Umarov.

The Penitentiary Forum is a platform to discuss penal reform in Tajikistan. The event was organised by the Tajik government in co-operation with Penal Reform International (PRI), an international NGO.

A riot in May at a prison in Vakhdat, 17km east of Dushanbe, initiated by jailed "Islamic State" (IS) militants, left 32 Tajiks dead, including 24 IS members.

The rioters fatally stabbed three guards and five inmates before taking other prisoners hostage and setting fire to the jail's medical facilities.

Security forces who restored order killed the 24 IS members.

Do you like this article?

0 Comment(s)

Comment Policy * Denotes Required Field 1500 / 1500