Except, of course the guards. Who, one can see as victims and prisoners themselves, locked in fear of retribution by a group of violent, yes political, but violent people. Also, being shot in the head while your visiting your mum, i'd say that's worth a bit of sympathy. You don't have to know the guy who shot him, but you have to remember that there was a lot of communication going in and out of that prison and any one of the prisoners could have fingered him and thus become partly responsible for the murder.

The audience sympathizes with the prisoners because they can be seen as vulnerable, but through their protests and misbehaviour the audience sees that these prisoners are not completly helpless. By forgetting the power, by sheer force of will and determination, they weilded over their captors by denying themselves you denegrate what they were trying to do.