Users of social networks report mass hunger strike of North-Caucasian natives in colony in Mordovia

A report has appeared in social networks about a mass hunger strike of prisoners from Northern Caucasus who serve their terms in Penal Colony Mo. 5 located in Mordovia. Members of the Public Oversight Commission (POC) of Mordovia and the Territorial Department of the Russian Federal Correction Agency (FSIN) deny this information.

As noted in the report circulated in the group "Pravozaschita" (Advocacy) of the social network Facebook, Chechen and Ingush inmates complain of constant fault-finding of the colony administration, which, as they claim, under any pretext put prisoners for long periods of time into dungeons.

Social network users note that more than 50 prisoners are on hunger strike for several days in protest against the actions of the colony administration. One of them, Aslan Jamalov, "driven to despair, cut his veins," the report says.

Also, it is reported that the inmates filed a joint complaint against the illegal actions of the colony managers. After that, on April 2 the colony was visited by Gusev, an employee of the FSIN Department for Mordovia, "who began intimidating the inmates claiming that new cases would be opened against them, and their terms will be increased."

According to the authors of the statement, "inmates protest against undue placing them in dungeons and cells to inmates suffering from open form of tuberculosis." They beg to help them, since they have no trust in the promises of colony bosses.

According to inmates, earlier, during the previous hunger strike, the colony managers promised to act according to the law, if they stopped their action, but as soon as the hunger strike was stopped, by the order of the administration most of the protesters were placed into dungeons (punishment cells).

At present, the high security Colony No. 5 for former employees of the judiciary and law enforcement bodies keeps about one hundred native of Northern Caucasus, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told at the FSIN Department for the Republic of Mordovia.

The members of the above POC have visited Colony No. 5 in order to check the information about nationality-based conflicts of inmates with the colony administration.

"I talked to inmates of various nationalities and religions. The facts of provocations against the inmates by colony bosses were not confirmed," said Gennady Morozov.

Also, during the visit to inmates, Sergey Semikov brought to their attention the decision of the FSIN Department for Mordovia to replace in all local colonies, where Muslims are kept, pork for beef or poultry, which is associated with nutrition of inmates professing Islam.