Siberian prisoners slash wrists over caste issue

82 prisoners slashed their wrists in protest as they were forced to eat from plates used by inmates of lower castes.

Chelyabinsk (Russia): At least 82 prisoners from a Chelyabinsk penal colony slashed their wrists in protest as they were forced to eat from plates earlier used by other inmates belonging to a "lower caste", regional human rights ombudsman Alexei Sevastyanov said Wednesday.

Chelyabinsk, the administrative center of Chelyabinsk Oblast, is located in the northwestern side of the oblast, 210 km south of Yekaterinburg city. The prisoners injured themselves on Monday.

Sevastyanov later arrived at the colony along with a public monitoring commission.

"All of the prisoners eat in one dining hall. After having their meal, they hand in their plates to be washed. Some of the prisoners do not like the fact that they have to eat from plates used earlier by inmates belonging to a `lower caste.` This is total nonsense," Sevastyanov commented.
He emphasised that he does not consider this a violation of human rights.

IANS