Posted on 09/16/2003 6:03:32 PM PDT by blam
Saudi dissident: 184 died in prison fire
September 16 2003 at 01:00AM
Dubai - A Saudi opposition group said as many as 144 inmates and 40 security men died in a fire on Monday at Saudi Arabia's largest prison, more than double the official toll given by authorities.
"According to an unimpeachable security source, 144 inmates have died in the fire at Al-Hair prison, in addition to 32 policemen and eight police officers," said London-based Saad al-Fagih of the Movement for Islamic Reform, which was first to break news of the blaze.
Saudi Arabia's prison chief, quoted by the official SPA news agency, said earlier that the Riyadh jail blaze "left 67 inmates dead, as well as 20 inmates and three security men wounded".
He said the cause of the fire was under investigation. - Sapa-AFP
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