Thailand Correction Department officials today proposed to release the country's hundreds of inmates with AIDS so the prisoners can "spend the last minutes of their lives with their family." The proposed release, part of a broader amnesty plan for 5,000 prisoners timed for the August 12 birthday of Thai Queen Sirikit, must be approved by the cabinet and forwarded to the royal palace for approval. More than 100 prisoners with AIDS have been identified at the Klong Prem central prison in Bangkok, and hundreds more are expected. Several dozen HIV-positive prisoners who do not have AIDS began receiving antiretroviral drugs this month, said Dr. Jorn Lervitworaphong, hospital director at Klong Prem. Thailand's nearly 200 prisons hold more than 250,000 inmates.

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