Brazil's prison toll hits nine

2004-04-21 10:50

Sao Paulo, - Rioting prisoners at an overcrowded lockup in the Amazon rainforest state of Rondonia killed three more of their fellow inmates, raising the death count to nine since the uprising began, authorities said.

Prisoners who have controlled the facility for three days brought the bodies of their latest victims onto the roof of a prison building and positioned them so police could see them, state police Captain Valter Israel said on Tuesday.

Then the prisoners took the bodies back inside the Urso Branco State Prison in the capital city of Porto Velho, about 2 500km northwest of Sao Paulo.

The prisoners took over on Sunday, after administrators rejected what they called "unreasonable demands" to improve conditions at the prison, which was built for 350 inmates but holds more than a thousand.

Six other prisoners were killed during the first two days of the takeover. The rioting prisoners cut off the head of one of their victims and hacked apart the body of another, prison officials said.

Rondonia Governor Ivo Cassol was scheduled to negotiate with the prisoners on Tuesday in an effort to end the uprising, but Israel said he did know whether the negotiating session began. Rondonia state officials could not be reached to comment on Tuesday night.

Prison officials have said prisoners demanded visits by prostitutes and the right to use drugs, but authorities agreed to open an investigation into alleged guard abuses against visiting wives and girlfriends.

- AP