A Saudi Arabian prison riot over living conditions and insufficient recreational facilities left a guard and 17 inmates injured, reported The Associated Press, quoting a security official.
Almost all 400 prisoners in the Central Prison in the northern Saudi city of Al-Jawf began rioting Thursday after dozens of inmates beat up a guard and set fire to blankets and mattresses, the official said by telephone from Riyadh.
Riot police and special security forces dispatched on two C-130 military planes helped prison guards quash the protest Friday, the official said on condition of anonymity.
Saudi authorities do not tolerate any sort of dissent, the official said, adding that the riot was the first of its kind in the kingdom.
Damage inside the prison was extensive, said the agency.
The prisoners sought a meeting with the governor of Al-Jawf, Prince Abdul Elah, after the warden repeatedly failed to come through with promised prison improvements, the official said.
An envoy met with them after the riot and promised to take their demands, which include better food, cleaner living conditions, newspapers, recreational facilities and doors on bathrooms, to the governor, said the agency - Albawaba.com
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
