A detainee injured three jailers in an Antwerp detention centre, with one sustaining serious head injuries. Unions, which for years now have been complaining about the challenging working conditions they face, are threatening a national strike action.
The aggressive inmate reportedly became aggressive during meal service. The incident occurred after the prisoner refused to go to hospital in prison clothes, and became angry as he insisted he wanted to be brought in civilian clothes, ACV trade unionist Bjorn Achten told VRT NWS.
"A little later during the food distribution, he tried to hit a colleague with an iron coffee pot. Other detainees managed to knock the jug out of his hand in time, whereupon the man overturned the cart on which the dinner was placed. The jailers then closed the cell door."
The intervention team and the correctional assistant arrived at the scene to escort the detainee to the punishment cell, but he leapt out and attacked them with a metal corner bar used in construction, which he most likely detached from the wall before staff arrived at his cell.
One jailer sustained a cut wound and was taken to hospital for treatment. Fortunately, according to the Prison Service, the cut inflicted did not appear to be too serious. Two others from the intervention team were also injured. The detainee, meanwhile, was placed in an isolation cell where he will remain there for the time being.
Not isolated incident
The unions, in response, have stressed that this type of behaviour and staff being put at risk is not acceptable. To draw attention to the incident, which once again highlights the challenging conditions that prison staff work under, unions are threatening a national strike action.
"Throughout the country, prisons are struggling with aggression problems. Politicians need to wake up and take additional measures urgently," Achten said.
In the same prison earlier this year, a detainee was seriously injured after being tortured for five days, after which unions said "overcrowding and understaffing resulted in the gruesome scene". This triggered actions across the country.
