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Brazil prison rioters take other inmates as hostages

Xinhua, October 7, 2015 Adjust font size:

Rioting prisoners in southern Brazil took other inmates as hostages Tuesday, demanding better conditions at their overcrowded facility, according to local media.

At least 10 inmates believed to be serving time for sexual assaults were seized by about 1,000 rioting prisoners in Londrina State Prison in Parana state, Brazil's G1 news website said.

The rioters took the hostages, with their hands tied, to the prison rooftop and threatened to throw them off if the rioters' demands were not met, the agency reported.

"According to the prisoners, they aren't being correctly treated at the facility. They want the director changed," Captain Mark Tordoro of the military police told the news agency.

The prison unit affected by the riot was designed to house 928 inmates, but currently held 1,140, the state penal authority said. Endi