Jordan Times
Friday, April 14, 2006
Security restored after prison clashes
AMMAN — Security was restored Thursday at the Gafgafa Correctional and Rehabilitation Centre, where clashes between inmates and policemen killed a prisoner and injured 35 from both sides, officials said.
Minister of Interior Eid Fayez and Government Spokesperson Nasser Judeh said the morning clashes erupted after a group of prisoners resisted a routine search for knives, other sharp instruments and narcotics, adding that some were found.
The situation at Gafgafa, north of Amman, was “completely under control,” they said.
According to Fayez, an inmate died en route to hospital after being wounded during the clashes. The man was identified by Fayez as Khaled Fawzi Ali Bishtawi, who was serving an 18-month sentence for conspiracy to commit a terrorist act.
Public Security Department Spokesperson Maj. Basheer Al Daaja said the cause of Bishtawi's death was under investigation.
Twenty prisoners and 15 policemen were injured in the clashes, Daaja added.
According to Agence France-Presse, one of the prisoners, an Islamist named Abdul Shehadeh Hamed Tahawi, used a mobile telephone to ring Al Jazeera television and said “two members of security” had been taken hostage.
Officials denied Tahawi's claim.