[JURIST] Prisoners in Kabul's Policharki Prison [AP backgrounder; IWPR backgrounder; also "Pul-e-Charkhi"] who rioted over the weekend agreed Monday to temporarily end their disturbance and allow injured inmates to be removed for medical care, according to the chief negotiator for the Afghan government. Sibghatullah Mojaddedi also reported an inmate request that the prison authorities help to bury the dead. In exchange for concessions, authorities restored the water, electricity and food which they had cut off from the facility late Sunday and Mojaddedi promised to convey the prisoners' demands, including a retrial for each of them and better living conditions, to the government.

The number of prisoners thought to have been killed in the rioting, which began Sunday when prisoners refused to put on new uniforms, has decreased from seven [JURIST report] to four [BBC report] based upon a report from a human rights official sent there to negotiate Monday. Afghan authorities have insisted that they want to end the siege peacefully, although Deputy Justice Minister Mohammed Qasim Hashimzai vowed that force would be used if necessary. Concern remains high because the wing that houses approximately 70 female prisoners and 70 children living with them is currently under inmate control, and two inmates have reportedly been taken hostage. AP has more.