Inmates of Nalchik SIZO hold protest action

On July 22, inmate of the Nalchik SIZO (pre-trial prison) organized a mass protest action and rejected aluminium utensils, provide to them at the SIZO. According to the participants of the protest action, arrested persons, diagnosed with tuberculosis and prisoners, belonging to "lower caste", ate from their dishes.

The SIZO inmates simply took aluminium dishes, mugs and spoons out of their cells and refused to continue to use them for their purpose. Preliminary, some of the participants of the protest action made holes in the dishes, crushed and spoiled mugs and spoons.

As a result, more than 350 dishes and mugs were broken. The reasons, which prompted the SIZO inmates to organize the protest action, were investigated by the Prosecutor's Office of Kabardino-Balkaria and members of the Public Supervising Commission. This was reported by the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, who on July 26 visited the Nalchik SIZO.

The same dishes were used for eating by ordinary prisoners, prisoners, diagnosed with tuberculosis, and representatives of the lowest caste in the prison hierarchy "dropped prisoners". This was explained by some of the participants of the protest action, who preferred to remain anonymous.

Asker Ivazov, Deputy Chief of the SIZO, refutes the allegations of the protesters. According to him, an arrested person under investigation receives utensils at the time of his admission to the SIZO, and he uses the same utensils during the time spent at the SIZO.

"Many of the SIZO inmates, who broke their dishes, used them for two years and more," Asker Ivazov has noted.