Hostages at two Brazilian prisons are still in the custody of rioting inmatesprotesting the harsh policies of prison wardens and poor conditions in the penitentiaries.
At the Carumbe prison in central west Mato Grosso state, some 140 inmate family members - including around 50 children - were still detained after a riot on Thursday, while in the regional Blumenau penitentiary in southern Santa Catarina, 105 rioting prisoners took two guards hostage late on Friday.
Inmates at Carumbe have let 29 people, including seven children, go free in the last two days, though four prison guards remain hostage.
Carumbe's prisoners are demanding the newly-appointed prison director, Elpidio Onofre Claro, be dismissed, and ask the medical care in the prison be improved.Some 300 Brazilian military police surround the perimeter of Carumbe, though they have yet to enter the prison compound.
The transfer of five prisoners, considered inmate leaders, from Blumenthal prompted the riot late Friday there, compounding demands for the resignation of that warden as well.
Rioting in Brazil's overcrowded prisons is nearly a daily occurrence, as inmates, often held for extended periods without being charged, complain of the poor medical care, the cramped conditions and the severity of punishments meted out by guards.
AFP