Sao Paulo: A prison riot in the southern Brazilian state of Parana has left at least one inmate dead and six others injured, the state’s Prison Affairs Department said Friday.
The department said the riot began Thursday afternoon at the Cascavel penitentiary. It also said the inmates were holding two guards hostage.
The department earlier said that two inmates had been killed and state Governor Beto Richa told reporters one of them had been decapitated. Several hours later the department said in a statement said that it could only confirm that one prisoner had been killed. There was no mention of decapitation.
Negotiations to end the uprising were suspended at the end of the afternoon and were to resume on Saturday.
The G1 news portal reported that the inmates were demanding better food and the transfer of three guards to other facilities.
About 700 of the facility’s 980 inmates were taking part in the uprising, which Governor Richa attributed to rival prison gangs.
