Prison inmate who pierced his brain with a pen, dies at hospital

A 37-year-old man, a prisoner from SIZO-3 detention centre in the city of Novocherkassk, died at hospital of Rostov-on-Don from a ballpoint pen that pierced into his brain through the eye socket.

According to spokespeople for the Federal Penitentiary Service, the man was admitted to the city hospital in Rostov-on-Don with a ballpoint pen that went through his eye and brain. According to doctors, the pen entered the brain to the entire depth of the skull and was only one millimeter away from vital vessels and the brain stem. Neurosurgeons performed the surgery, the man was admitted to intensive care.

According to the Federal Penitentiary Service, the arrested man injured himself on February 5, "being in a state of nervous breakdown" when he was in his cell. The man was taken to the hospital a day later, on the evening of February 6, and was operated the same day. However, on February 9, the patient died in intensive care.

According to local publication Donday, the name of the deceased was Andrey S. He resided in the Krasnodar Territory of Russia and was accused of robbery.

The man was believed to be prone to deliberate self-mutilation. When in the prison cell, he started behaving inadequately, banging his head against the wall. At one point, the man's inmate saw that there was a pen sticking out of the man's eye. He started screaming and attracted the attention of the prison staff.