Around 200 inmates break out of Indonesian jail

An Indonesian police spokesman says 77 of the inmates, of approximately 200 who had escaped, had been recaptured. The prisoners escaped after tearing down a gate near a mosque in the prison complex after being allowed out of their cells to pray.

Guards close a gate at Kerobokan prison in Denpasar, on the Indonesian island of Bali.
TRT World and Agencies

Guards close a gate at Kerobokan prison in Denpasar, on the Indonesian island of Bali.

About 200 prisoners in Indonesia broke out of an overcrowded jail on Sumatra island on Friday, officials said. The inmates tore down a gate near a mosque in the prison complex after being allowed out of their cells to pray.

Inmates had complained about their treatment in the jail in Pekanbaru, Riau province, and accused some guards of being violent, said Ferdinand Siagian, head of the regional office of the Law Ministry.

"This triggered the incident before Friday prayers," Siagian told Metro TV.

Guntur Aryo Tejo, a Riau police spokesman, said 77 inmates had been recaptured of the approximately 200 who had escaped. Television footage showed a police officer in black riot gear holding one man in a headlock.

The jail has a capacity of up to 700 inmates but was housing about 1,800 prisoners, Tedjo told Metro TV.

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