Tatarstan authorities said they plan on relocating an unspecified number of prisoners from Kazan to detention centers elsewhere in the region ahead of the 2013 Summer Universiade.
Tatarstan prisons head Daufit Hamadishin told reporters late last week that the transfers were merely precautionary security measures as more than 10,000 student athletes are expected to descend on the regional capital from July 6 to 17.
Hamadishin noted that the region has not seen a prison escape in more than 10 years.
Hamadishin told RBC that the prisoners are "likely to return" once the Universiade wraps up.
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