Protests by prison inmates in the Czech Republic have ended with promises by the prison service management to look into their complaints.

The protests started with a riot in a prison Vinarice near Prague earlier this week and spread to nearly half of the country's jails.

The inmates were demanding better living conditions and the repeal of a law which would oblige them to contribute financially to the cost of their upkeep in prison.

The head of the prison service, Kamila Meclova, promised to improve hygiene and food allowances, but she ruled out the possibility of a change in the new prison legislation.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service