According to
Mark Holmberg of
WTVR-TV — the
CBS television affiliate based in Richmond, Virginia — the Pankrác prison in Prague, Czech Republic where
LAMB OF GOD singer
Randy Blythe is facing manslaughter charges in connection with the death of a fan more than two years ago is now largely a holding facility for those yet to be tried or sentenced. It holds less than a 1,000 inmates — less than half its 2,200 capacity in the early days of the Nazi occupation when its services were in heavy demand.
Some of the ther famous Pankrác inmates include well-known Uzbekistan poet, writer and reformist
Muhammed Solih, who was arrested at the Prague airport in 2001 and tossed in Pankrác for opposing the communist party; famous Czechoslovakian writer, and later, Czech president,
Vaclav Havel, who was incarcerated in Pankrac several times for being a political dissident; and Czech parliament member
Dr. Milada Horakova, who was locked up in Pankrác for opposing the communist takeover in Czechoslovakia.
The Pankrác prison is designed for 858 inmates, of whom 468 are in remand and 390 are serving terms of imprisonment. Prisoners are accommodated in rooms with an average capacity of three beds, the largest containing ten beds. The prison premises also contain a Czech Prison Service hospital, serving the inmates, with a capacity of 111, as well as the Pankrác Memorial, containing an exhibition on the Prison Service.
Blythe was arrested at the Prague airport on June 27 and is accused of shoving a local fan off the stage during
LAMB OF GOD's May 2010 concert in the city. The man, who is said to have stormed the stage three times during the show, reportedly suffered a brain hemorrhage that resulted in his death nearly a month later.
After the court doubled
Blythe's bail last week from about $200,000 to about $400,000, the prosecutor once again filed a complaint against the singer's release. The judge now reportedly has five days to determine whether the attempt to post bail will be granted.
Watch a two-minute
WTVR-TV video report below.
