SOFIA, Bulgaria, Feb. 12 (UPI) -- About 150 inmates in Sofia's central prison began a hunger strike protesting against Bulgaria's amnesty law that failed to include them.
Dimitar Bongalov, Bulgarian deputy justice minister, said the government might withdraw the amnesty bill if tension in prisons in Sofia and Pazardzhil, 70 miles southeast of the capital, keeps rising, the Bulgarian news agency Focus reported.
Bongalov said the government could amend the amnesty bill, the first granted by the Justice Ministry in the past 15 years.
About 150 convicts, described repeat offenders, complained the amnesty bill does not apply to them, the Sofia News Agency said. They refused to return to prison cells Sunday evening, demanding amnesty that covers all inmates and not only those who have less than three years still to serve.
The Bulgarian government granted amnesty to mark the country's accession to the European Union Jan. 1 but the bill has not yet gone into effect.
Under the amnesty bill, about 1,500 convicts may be released from jail and about 80,000 trials terminated.
