Ex-Soviet inmates continue hunger strike in Prague jail

Inmates in the Pankraz prison in Prague, most of whom are natives of the former Soviet Union, continue to refuse to end their hunger strike, Miloslava Havlickova, spokeswoman for the Czech Prison Department, told reporters on Friday.

She said the inmates, mostly Ukrainian nationals, are under constant supervision of medical workers.

32 inmates went on hunger strike early this week, with 4 more joining them shortly thereafter. By now, the number of hunger strikers has mounted to 57.

The inmates said they began the hunger strike to protest against slow trials by judicial authorities and to highlight human rights violations and discrimination against foreign nationals in Czech jails.

Havlickova noted that prison services are dealing with each hunger striker individually, adding that the authorities are willing to handle their grievances, but would not make any concessions.