Rioting inmates at a prison in the northern state of Amazonas held seven guards hostage for several hours Saturday, protesting against the suspension of all visits in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, authorities said.
RIO DE JANEIRO — Rioting inmates at a prison in the northern state of Amazonas held seven guards hostage for several hours Saturday, protesting against the suspension of all visits in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, authorities said.
After more than five tense hours, the state’s public security secretariat said the situation inside the Puraquequara prison in the city of Manaus had been brought under control without any casualties and the guards freed.
Visits at the facility were suspended in mid-March, family members said, and rumors that the virus has began to spread inside have been circulating on social media for weeks. Without visits, most families are entirely cut off from loved ones, with no way of getting in touch with them.
«They are getting sick and we can’t visit, or bring medicine.
