Teenage prisoners riot near Petersburg after reports of abuse

Young prisoners have rioted at a juvenile detention centre near Saint Petersburg, burning buildings and clashing with staff and other detainees.

The distubances were sparked by rumours that some inmates had been beaten up by prison officers – a claim denied by staff af the facility in the town of Metallostroy.

“The teenagers had incorrectly heard that their friends were being assaulted and so they started fighting,” Aleksey Pavlov, Federal Penitentiary Service representative said.

Mr Pavlov said there had been some violence at the prison but that  it was quickly brought under control.

“There was minor damage, only one window broken. Fire engines came just in case,” he said.

Youths set alight watch towers and tried to burn other parts of the prison.

There were no reports of injuries.

The riot comes only a week after disturbances at a juvenile prison in the town of Kirovograd in Russia's Sverdlovsk region.