Manama: The Chief Prosecutor in Bahrain’s Southern Governorate Muhanna Al Shaiji on Wednesday said that an investigation was launched to determine whether the riots that took place inside a prison had been premeditated.
The riots broke out on Tuesday when the relatives of an inmate insisted on allowing a visitor who had no identification document with him to enter the centre in the southern village of Jaww, the Director of Reformation and Rehabilitation Centre said.
The request was rejected and some of the inmates began rioting, vandalising parts of the building while inside the prison, other detainees damaged parts of the wards. The rioters took a male nurse supervisor hostage, he added.
Visitors as well as the inmates involved were arrested.
On Wednesday, Al Shaiji confirmed rioters committed acts of chaos, and rebellion inside their wards.
The inmates did not comply with the orders and instructions they were given to keep calm, expelled wardens from the wards and damaged air conditioning units and CCTV cameras, he said.
The rioters also ignited fire in some places, climbed rooftops, hurled stones and hard items, and damaged the two watchtowers, resulting in injuries to policemen and officers.
Al Shaiji said the Public Prosecution officers visited the Centre to assess the damage resulting from the acts and to be briefed on the injured policemen and inmates.
He added that the assessment was conducted ahead of the questioning of inmates, officials and witnesses and of the identification of the perpetrators of the incidents.
The prosecution would also work on assessing whether the incidents had been planned and, in such a case, identify those who were involved and the objectives of their acts.
