Mauritanian jail inmates riot to protest bad conditions

By Mohamed al-Bakay

NOUAKCHOTT (AA) – Inmates at Nouakchott’s Al-Qasr Prison rioted for several hours on Wednesday to protest alleged mistreatment by the prison authorities.

According to local security sources, who spoke anonymously due to restrictions on speaking to media, inmates set parts of the prison on fire causing smoke and flames to billow from the facility.

After several hours, prison guards -- using copious amounts of teargas -- managed to contain the riot.

"Security reinforcements arrived immediately to the prison to help control the situation," one security source told Anadolu Agency.

A number of prisoners, the same source said, had suffered temporary asphyxia as a result of teargas inhalation.

In 2015, dozens of inmates at the same prison went on hunger strike following the death of a fellow prisoner during a routine medical operation.

Soon afterward, local media outlets published leaked photos from the facility suggesting that inmates had, in fact, been subjected to ill-treatment by the prison authorities.

In February, Juan E. Mendez, the UN’s special rapporteur on torture, described living conditions for most Mauritanian prison inmates as "inhumane", citing rampant overcrowding, a lack of medical attention and psychological stress.