Gibson draws fire again for Mexican prison film

Actor-filmmaker Mel Gibson has sparked protests in Mexico after a portion of the population at a Veracruz prison was transferred to accommodate filming of his upcoming movie.

More than 200 inmates of Ignacio Allende prison in the eastern Mexican state were moved to four other jails in the early hours of Saturday morning.

The prison's chief said that approximately 1,100 inmates remained, but that additional prisoners may still be transferred.

Gibson first scouted out the site last April. He previously filmed his 2006 Mayan-language adventure film Apocalypto in eastern Mexico and had donated $1 million US to hurricane relief in the region in 2005.

Prison emptied for "our friend," said governor

Veracruz Gov. Fidel Herrera Beltran announced in early December that the jail would be emptied for "a grand production" by "our friend, the actor and producer Mel Gibson."

In late December, several hundred family members of inmates held a protest outside the prison, brandishing signs with messages such as:"Don't take them away, they aren't animals." They blocked access to the prison for 24 hours before ending their demonstration.

The protesters, who say the moves place them under increased financial difficulties in having to travel further to visit their imprisoned family members, returned last week upon learning of the imminent transfer and scuffled with police.

For Saturday's early morning transfer, military officials were dispatched to keep the peace.

Gibson's representatives have not issued a response.

The film being shot is believed to be How I Spent My Summer Vacation, an action drama written by and starring Gibson as a career criminal who is forced to pick up new survival skills while serving a sentence in a rough Mexican prison.