Venezuelan convicts stitch lips together

Caracas - A group of Venezuelan prisoners stitched their lips together as part of a protest hunger strike to press their demands…

Caracas - A group of Venezuelan prisoners stitched their lips together as part of a protest hunger strike to press their demands to be transferred to another wing of their prison, authorities said yesterday.

The prison services were unable to give the exact number of inmates who took part in the protest on Tuesday at Tocuyito prison in Carabobo state, west of Caracas. The Caracas daily El Universal reported a total of 48 Tocuyito inmates "sewed their mouths up".

The prison services said the prisoners were persuaded by authorities to end their protest.