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Prisoners kill Kyrgyz MP in hostage drama

Posted on: Thursday, 20 October 2005, 09:48 CDT

By Olga Dzyubenko

BISHKEK (Reuters) - Inmates at a prison hospital in ex-Soviet Kyrgyzstan killed a parliamentarian and two other people after taking him and his entourage hostage on Thursday, the Justice Ministry said.

The deputy, Tynychbek Akmatbayev, had been visiting the tuberculosis hospital attached to Prison No. 31, about 15 miles northwest of the capital Bishkek, when the violence erupted.

"The deputy Akmatbayev died from gunshot wounds," said a spokesman for the Justice Ministry's prisons service who asked not to be named. He could not immediately say how the prisoners acquired weapons.

A further two members of his entourage were killed and the head of the prisons service, Imatulla Polotov, was critically injured. A parliament spokeswoman said earlier gunshots could be heard at the time of the hostage-taking.

A riot at another prison earlier this week, prompted by a protest against poor living conditions, forced the staff to evacuate the grounds and security forces to surround it.

Kyrgyzstan, a poor and mountainous Central Asian state bordering China, has been unstable since violent protests ousted former President Askar Akayev in March.

Prime Minister Felix Kulov, himself a prisoner under Akayev, had arrived at the prison, the Justice Ministry said.

It was not immediately clear if the hostage-takers had made any demands, but Akmatbayev was involved in negotiations on Wednesday at the other prison, also near Bishkek. That prison remained surrounded by security forces on Thursday.

The riot in the first prison, which houses 2,000 prisoners, broke out on Tuesday. Kyrgyzstan has around 18,000 prison inmates.

Source: REUTERS

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