The Madagascan Minister of Justice Johnny Andriamahefarivo explained Thursday by the dissatisfaction of the detainees with the consequences of the confinement the mutiny which left more than 20 dead on Sunday in a prison in Farafangana (south-east).
Read also: Madagascar: 20 detainees killed in a mutiny
Several dozen inmates revolted and attacked the guards on Sunday, managing to grab a gun, authorities said. Twenty of them were killed by the police and several others were injured, three of whom subsequently died. " The reason for the escape comes from the dissatisfaction of the detainees, who are already overcrowded, who no longer have the right to leave because of the coronavirus, and who do not know when they will be released, as the trials are suspended in court due to confinement, ”the minister told reporters.
" The shootings were justified by the violence of the escape, according to the information currently available ", he assured, while Amnesty International condemned the " illegal use of lethal force " and demanded an independent investigation. Out of 350 detainees, 68 managed to escape, but half were quickly recaptured, only a dozen remaining on the run Thursday.
The minister nevertheless acknowledged the dilapidated state of the establishment, stressing that " the inmates destroyed the paving of the prison which was in poor condition " to obtain the stones they threw at the guards.