New Details on the Hostage Situation Involving Prison Staff by Defendants in Russia

Defendants held in a detention facility in Rostov, Russia, had been planning for a long time to take prison staff hostage; they had previously weakened the bars of their cell.

This information was reported by a source to the "Izvestia" news outlet on June 16. "When the criminals considered the moment to be right, they broke the bars and left the cell," the source stated.

According to the source, after that, the perpetrators invaded the area of the duty section, taking two staff members hostage. They were armed with knives and rubber truncheons.

At this time, they are demanding a vehicle to escape the premises of the detention facility. According to information from the media outlet, the hostage-taking was organized by individuals who identify themselves as supporters of ISIS (the Islamic State terrorist organization, which is banned in Russia).

The detainees who took hostages at the Rostov facility were sentenced to 18 years in prison last year for preparing to bomb the Supreme Court building in Karachay-Cherkessia. One of them is 22-year-old Malik Gandaloev. His brother, Ramazan, and friend, Arsen Gamadov, have been accused of producing and illegally possessing explosives.

Earlier, it was reported that the defendants had taken two staff members hostage in a Rostov detention center. Negotiations are currently ongoing for the release of the hostages.