Riot erupts at Georgetown Prison

Mar 03, 2016 News

More 70 Prisoners held in the Capital Section of the Georgetown Prisons vented their

Fire fighters attempt to extinguish the prison blaze

frustration at the sloth of justice in Guyana by setting a section of the prison on fire.
Prison officers, vigilant police officers and fire fighters were all kept busy last night. The blaze was spotted around 21:30 hrs. This created a situation that saw the authorities trying to contain the blaze as well as the irate prisons who were screaming, “Freedom! We want Freedom!”
Kaieteur News understands that the prisoners were protesting because they said that they have been charged for serious offences such as murder and rape, but are yet to get a fair hearing in the court system.
The streets were blocked off by the disciplined services who did a good job of keeping scores of curious but concerned residents at bay.
Initially, firefighters tried to extinguish the fire from outside the prison walls but failed. They were then forced to breach the fence at the John Street section and so controlled the blaze from the inside.
The prisoners seemed further agitated when this occurred and started hitting out the meshed windows with what appeared to be poles as they continued to scream to be released.
This newspaper was told that the matter will be looked into by the relevant authorities.