About 180 prison inmates in the Ulyanovsk region have been on a hunger strike since Sunday and are refusing to work, saying they are protesting beatings by prison officers, Interfax reported, citing regional prosecutors.

Prosecutors are investigating possible abuses by staff at Prison Colony No. 3 in Dimitrovgrad, where 80 prisoners refused food Sunday evening after 102 prisoners cut themselves, said Vasily Zima, an aide to the Ulyanovsk regional prosecutor, Interfax reported Tuesday.