Guards Open Gates, Inmates Walk Out
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HONIARA, Solomon Islands — All 149 convicts in Honiara’s central jail, including six murderers, walked to freedom Monday after guards opened the gates in a protest action.
A few prisoners responded to radio appeals to give themselves up, but more than 120 were still at large, walking the streets of the capital, drinking and stealing, police said.
The prison officers walked out as two senior officers and a government official appeared in court over brutality charges brought by an inmate.
Guards complained that a recent compensation award to a prisoner who claimed he had been beaten by guards made it impossible to maintain discipline at the prison.
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