SAO PAOLO (AFP) – At least 25 inmates died in clashes between two rival factions in Agricola de Monte Cristo prison in far northern Brazil, local media reported citing police.
Seven of the dead were beheaded and six burned to death in fighting at a prison in Boa Vista, the capital of Roraima state. Roraima state Secretary of Justice Uziel Castro said that the fight erupted during visiting hours, and some 100 relatives of inmates were briefly held hostage. The rioters demanded that a judge come to hear their demands.
Instead Special Operations Police stormed the prison, released the hostages and regained control of the site by sundown.