microtoerisme.nl (CC BY-SA 3.0)The prison in Turnhout
NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 01:11
A riot broke out in a prison in Turnhout, Belgium, on Saturday evening. After a walk around the grounds, 75 detainees refused to go back to their cells. The police managed to bring the rebellious prisoners back inside around 11:15 p.m.
According to Belgian broadcaster VRT, the detainees are said to be angry because a telephone malfunction earlier in the day prevented them from making a phone call, which they are normally entitled to. There is also dissatisfaction about a prisoner strike planned for next Monday and Tuesday. The detainees must therefore remain in their cells all day.
Water cannon
It resulted in a major prison uprising in Turnhout, not far from the Dutch border. According to a spokesperson for the Belgian Prison Service, some detainees have caused destruction. A fire was set, among other things, the VRT reports. That is why the fire brigade was also called in.
Special police intervention units arrived on the scene to lead the detainees to their cells one by one. That went without any problems. Three hours after the start of the uprising, peace had returned. A water cannon was ready as a precaution, but it did not have to be used. No one was injured either.
The Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws reports that during the uprising a number of prisoners ended up between the double fence of the prison, but according to the newspaper there was no real escape attempt.
2023-09-22 23:11:57
#Uprising #Belgian #prison #anger #telephone #failure
