This is a chronology of prison and detention centre riots, hunger strikes and other prison-related matter taken from the News of Opposition page, going back to January 2016. Owing to technical problems December 2015 to March 2013 can now be found here. The intro to the 2 chronologies is here.
16/10/22:
US Alabama: statements from striking prisoners on 3rd week of strike involving 20,000 prisoners
4/2/22:
Chile, Santiago: further clashes for the release of political prisoners
28/1/22:
Chile, Santiago: clashes on demo for release of political prisoners
17/12/21:
Thailand: hundreds of prisoners riot to demand better Covid care
10/9/21:
France, Marseille: hunger strike and fire at prison for migrants
28/4/21:
UK, Bristol: report on anti-prison action
10/4/21:
US, Idaho: small prison riot
4/4/21:
US, St.Louis: revolt in city jail for 2nd time this year
“On Sunday night, prisoners smashed through the glass of street-facing windows and threw flaming debris to the street below. A crowd gathered around the facility while people, including local news reporters, filmed the men shouting their demands and chanting. “
27/3/21:
US, Oklahoma: prisoner takes screw hostage, releases other prisoners, before being killed by state
6/2/21:
US, St.Louis: inmates of city jail riot, smash windows, set fires
“About 115 inmates on the fourth floor started the disturbance around 2:30 a.m., the St. Louis Post Dispatch reported…Inmates broke windows, threw chairs and apparently set fire and threw flaming items onto the sidewalk below, the Dispatch reported. Jacob Long, a spokesperson for Mayor Lyda Krewson, called it a “very dangerous disturbance.” Deputies were still working to gain custody of inmates at 9 a.m. It is unclear how the inmates gained control of that portion of the jail.” More here. And here.
” A faulty locking system allowed inmates at a downtown city jail to escape their cells Saturday before freeing other “very violent people” who then caused widespread damage on a floor of the jail, including smashing exterior windows and sending flaming debris to the sidewalk below, city officials said. About 115 inmates took control of the fourth floor of the City Justice Center, where they set fires, clogged toilets, flooded parts of the floor and caused other damage, officials said. … people gathered to watch from across Tucker Boulevard as a group of inmates threw chairs and other items out of the building and smashed nearby windows while flames could be seen growing behind them. The scene was livestreamed by onlookers and carried on Facebook Live and other social platforms. Inmates could be heard yelling disparaging remarks about police in what was at least the third disturbance at the downtown jail in recent weeks. “These were just very angry, defiant, very violent people that we house at the Justice Center,” the city’s director of public safety, Jimmie Edwards, told reporters after the uprising was brought under control about 10 a.m. “No one at the Justice Center is housed for a misdemeanor, a municipal offense or a low-level felony. Everybody housed at the Justice Center is housed there because of very serious offenses like assault on police officers and homicide and things of that sort.” The events began around 2:30 a.m. Saturday when an inmate who Edwards said “was very, very upset” fought with a guard. Other inmates then jumped the guard. The man was later treated at a hospital and released. No other corrections officers or inmates were hurt, he said. Edwards explained that the fourth floor had inmates being held in four different units. A few of the inmates who had jumped the guard had previously jimmied the locks and escaped from their cells. They gained access to a control panel that allowed them to free others in the unit. The group of men then were able to “breach” the unit and reach the hallways, Edwards said. While the inmates seized control of the floor, they were unable to breach doors that would have given them access to other floors, he said. Meanwhile, the escapes that happened in the first unit began occurring in another unit. “Those detainees were also very aggressive, very violent,” Edwards said. “They, too, were able to be released from their cells because those locks were also jimmied and they were also able to breach their unit.” Further complicating the problem was that an “automated panel system” monitored by guards never indicated that cells had been unlocked or opened, Edwards said. Law enforcement officers used tear gas to regain control of the floor and a spokesman for Mayor Lyda Krewson said all the inmates were “back in custody” shortly before 10 a.m. Jail officials have been aware that some cell locks can be manipulated and Edwards said authorities have been working since December to resolve the problem. One of the largest detention centers in the St. Louis region, the Justice Center has the capacity to hold 860 inmates. There were more than 630 people in custody there on Saturday. About 55 detainees were moved later in the day to a different, higher security unit within the jail. About 65 others were moved to the St. Louis Medium Security Institution, also known as the workhouse. “MSI is a more secure facility than CJC,” Edwards said, repeating it again for emphasis. “It is a more secure facility than CJC.” For now, only one unit on the fourth floor of the Justice Center will be used. The others will be operational again in three to four weeks, Edwards said. The $101 million jail opened in 2002, replacing an older facility built in 1914. The same architectural firms that designed the facility also designed the St. Louis County Justice Center in Clayton. That facility has not had any issues with its locking system, a county spokesman said Saturday. There was a disturbance at the City Justice Center during the last week of December and a second one just days later. In those cases inmates had expressed concern about unsafe conditions amid the coronavirus pandemic. In both cases, dozens of inmates were later transferred to the workhouse. Edwards on Saturday said he did not know what prompted the latest incident. “This time, no reason was given,” Edwards said. But state Rep. Rasheen Aldridge, D-St. Louis, was doubtful of Edwards’ claim, saying in a statement that “there are never protests without demands.” Inmates who stood early Saturday at the shattered windows of the Justice Center held various signs, one of which Aldridge said referred to more than 50 people who were placed in solitary confinement following the initial disturbance in December. Aldridge said he’s going to contact Edwards and Krewson to request a tour of the facility. “This is not an easy fix,” he said. “We need to reimagine public safety to be smart on crime — not simply tough on it. But Black lives don’t matter until every Black life matters — that includes Black incarcerated lives.” Blake Strode, executive director of the legal advocacy group ArchCity Defenders, said his organization has heard time and again from inmates concerned about exposure to COVID-19, lack of testing for the coronavirus and little effort made to separate infected inmates from others. But layered on top of that are systemic concerns, he said, such as inmates facing no-bail orders or bail amounts they can’t afford to pay. The result is detainees in many cases held for more than 300 days before a trial begins, Strode said. “That background I think contributes to the frustration that we see bubbling up in the jails,” he said. Strode also took aim at Edwards’ assessment of those being held at the downtown jail, arguing that many there are not violent offenders and are facing minor offenses for which they likely will not be convicted. “It’s completely irresponsible in my view for Jimmie Edwards to simply characterize everyone as angry, defiant and violent people, and therefore we shouldn’t care about anything they have to say,” he said.”
And a lot of detail about the conditions in the jail and reasons for this revolt here.
Email from friend: The rioters were singing Lil Boosie’s “Fuck the Police Anthem” … to the crowd below…cheering them on as they rioted above & they also harassed a passing bike cop. People were also collecting the debris they had thrown out and lazily barricading the front door… There was this old man just calmly piling riot trash at the door for awhile. Folks were throwing their uniforms on the ground and people outside were putting them on.
See also this, from 2013, which refers to the same city jail
9/1/21:
Australia, Christmas Island: further “disturbances” at refugee detention centre
“In a Facebook post late on Saturday evening, one man detained on Christmas Island said the centre was “on fire again because the authorities don’t want to give those who are sick, those who have mental problem, those who have heart failure, their medication for days”. “I can’t breath, the rooftop is burning and the smoke is coming in here,” he said, claiming police had firearms and teargas. “This place is not a good place, we’re traumatised here.” The man said medication had not been provided for “five days”.
8/1/21:
US, Texas: report on how prisoners are setting fires to protest Covid conditions
5/1/21:
Australia, Christmas Island: riot at refugee detention centre
“…two compounds were set alight on Tuesday night, and at least two men climbed on to the roof of a compound. One of the detainees involved in the riot told the Guardian that they had sought permission to stage a peaceful protest over what they say is inhumane treatment, but were denied. Rey, a detainee who has been in detention for six years, said that many of his cohort were in lockdown for 22 hours a day, were denied access to workable wifi and struggled with mental and physical health.Video supplied to Guardian Australia shows a mattress being set alight and a man on a roof shouting “enough is enough”.
30/11/20:
Sri Lanka, Colombo: prison riot against horrendous conditions conducive to Covid infection leaves 8 murdered by the state
“At least eight prisoners were killed and more than 50 injured in clashes with guards at a Sri Lankan prison, officials said on Monday, as authorities tried to quell a protest over rising coronavirus infections in the country’s crowded jails.Sri Lanka has witnessed an upsurge in coronavirus cases in the past month and over-congested prisons across the country have reported thousands of fresh infections. Inmates have staged protests in recent weeks demanding an increase in coronavirus testing and new isolation facilities for infected prisoners.The latest clash at Mahara prison situated on the outskirts of the capital Colombo started on Sunday when some inmates protested against prisoners infected by the Covid-19 virus being transferred from other facilities to Mahara.” More here: “…a group of inmates had attempted to break out from prison following a conflict with prison officials. Prison authorities had opened fire to control the situation and a team of Police Special Task Force (STF) personnel were deployed to assist prison authorities. Subsequently, a massive fire had broken out at the prison when several inmates set fire to the health office, a storage area, and several other places within the prison.
The fire had raged on until 3 am this morning and was later completely extinguished with help of 06 fire trucks. Two prison officials held hostage by prison inmates have been rescued. However, the condition of one of the prison officials who was rescued after being held hostage is reportedly critical.”
12/11/20:
US: report on first 90 days of prisoner resistance to Covid
5/11/20:
France, Marseille: part of migrant detention centre torched
22/10/20:
Nigeria, Lagos: prisoners torch prison as demonstrations and riots against cop brutality continue outside prison walls despite state-imposed curfew; several police stations also torched
“The situation is still tense in Nigeria. After violence that killed dozens of people on Tuesday, a prison was set on fire on Thursday, October 22, in Lagos…..The sprawling Lagos was still under curfew on Thursday, October 22, its streets deserted and its shops closed, in the aftermath of a day of violence that erupted after the bloody crackdown on peaceful protests in the Nigerian megalopolis. Several shots were fired and thick black smoke billowed from the roof of Lagos Central Prison on Thursday. “They are attacking the prison,” said police stationed nearby. At least 38 people were killed across Nigeria on Tuesday, including 12 protesters in Lagos, where the army and police fired live ammunition at two rallies…Since the youth protests began two weeks ago, 56 people have died across the country……the police and the army, implicated in these killings, … deny any responsibility. “I cannot say who is involved in this shooting, certainly not the police,” Police Minister Muhammad Maigari Dingyadi told British radio BBC on Wednesday morning. “The soldiers have already spoken, they deny being responsible,” he added….Videos of the Lekki shooting, showing soldiers firing live ammunition above a crowd waving flags and singing the national anthem, had been widely shared on social media as early as Tuesday evening. These images, particularly shocking, had sparked anger among hundreds of young people Wednesday. Several police stations, the headquarters of a television station and the port authority and a bus terminal were set on fire. Violent clashes between security forces and young people also erupted in different parts of the city. Nigeria has been shaken for 15 days by an unprecedented protest, born on social networks at the beginning of October, which then won the streets of the main cities of the country.” More here and here“…some hoodlums overpowered officials of the prison, in an attempt to free inmates. It was gathered that the Hoodlums set the prison on fire while several scamper for safety. According to online reports, inmates are trying to break out of prison as there are gun shot been heard in the area.”
23/10/20:
Belgium, Antwerp: 2 possibly insane staff members of Forensic Psychiatric Centre taken hostage by possibly saner prisoners
18/9/20:
Malta: riot at migrant detention centre
15/9/20:
Argentina, Cordoba: riot and hunger strike in prison; prisoners demand early release, resolution of delayed cases and house arrest amidst deterioration of Coronavirus health conditions
13/9/20:
Lebanon, Roumieh: riots in prison as 13 prisoners and 9 gurads are tested positive for Coronavirus
“Unrest stirs as positive coronavirus cases were detected in Lebanon’s biggest and most overcrowded Roumieh Prison. As all of Lebanon experiences a surge in cases, local media reported that 13 Roumieh inmates and 9 guards tested positive for the Coronavirus disease. On Sunday evening, prisoners staged a riot to protest the neglect of inmates whose lives are threatened by the poor conditions at the prison. The head of the Beirut Bar Association, Melhem Khalaf, described the situation at Roumieh as a “time bomb.” Inmates and their families previously protested the lack of measures being taken to prevent the spread of the highly infectious coronavirus, before any cases were confirmed. Now that the disease is inside the prison, the situation is critical as it can lead to a complete health disaster”
1/9/20:
Australia, Queensland: 2nd night of fires etc. in anger at Covid restrictions at remand prison
21/8/20:
Belarus: 13 km human chain to the prison where protesters opposed to the Lukashenko regime were tortured
“…The Interior Ministry has announced the arrest of at least 6,700 people since the outbreak of protests challenging Alexander Lukashenko’s election victory. There were numerous testimonies of young protesters arrested and beaten. Electrocuted, beaten, burned with a cigarette. Belarusian protesters recount their ordeal in Lukashenko’s prisons: “I thought he was burying us here” …”
Although a human chain to show anger at torture and imprisonment seems uncomplicatedly “a good thing”, human chains are largely symbolic, easy moral displays, mostly just shows of solidarity mainly for the cameras. However, they can embolden prisoners and boost their morale.
25/7/20:
US, Seattle: construction site of Youth Jail Set on Fire
16/7/20:
Argentina, Jujuy: prison riot (videos and links)
23/5/20:
Syria, Idlib: brief report on armed prison riot and failed escape attempt by 35 prisoners
10/5/20:
Canada, Montreal: 30-car “caravan” in noise demo in solidarity with prisoners after one dies of Covid
3/5/20:
Argentina, Santiago del Estero: prison riot – mattress burning and escape attempts
2/5/20:
Brazil, Manaus: prison mutiny – mattresses burnt, 7 screws taken hostage, over visitor suspension
1/5/20:
Venezuela, Guanare: “Socialist” state murders 17 during prison mutiny
29/4/20:
Colombia: prison escape and uprising attempt thwarted in Villavicencio
“Seven inmates tried to dig a tunnel out of one of the cells at a jail in Villavicencio, guards said. Home-made weapons that were going to be used in an uprising have been seized, they add. The jail has 314 coronavirus cases, the highest number of any Colombian prison.Inmates have protested about the high risk they run of contracting the virus. Among the more than 300 people who tested positive at the jail are both guards and prisoners.”
Sierra Leone, Freetown: 7 killed in prison riot …More here Video here…Amnesty International report here
Various quotes:
“Five inmates and two prison officers were killed in a riot at a prison in Sierra Leone’s capital on Wednesday…The violence at Pademba Road Prison in Freetown followed confirmation of a coronavirus case there earlier in the week”
“It is not clear what started yesterday’s riot, but it became violent after inmates set fire to walls. Security guards shot live ammunition in response. According to information received by Amnesty International, a prison officer was hit by a stray bullet, resulting in his death.”
“Smoke billowed from the central prison in Sierra Leone’s capital and gunfire could be heard from nearby streets on Wednesday after a riot broke out…The correctional centre, designed to house 324 inmates, held over 2,000 in 2019”
28/4/20:
Argentina: 2 prison mutinies (videos and links in Spanish)
US: Report on riots and escapes from juvenile detention centres in Louisiana and New York
27/4/20:
Argentina, Mendoza: prisoners seize roof in protest against new normal – against potential death from virus whilst being buried alive in increasingly suffocating conditions
“More than 100 prisoners protested on the roofs of the Boulogne Sur Mer prison…Several inmates climbed onto the roofs with objects in their hands, shouting “we are all united”…This occurred in a context of much movement in recent days in the country’s prisons, as happened in the El Borbollón women’s prison, in Las Heras, on Friday, and in Devoto, Buenos Aires…In all these detention facilities the requests are similar: greater sanitary and hygiene conditions, and the release or house arrest for prisoners who are within the risk group for Covid-19. Since last week in Boulogne Sur Mer and San Felipe, some prisoners have started a hunger strike also as a protest measure, viralizing some photos of them with their mouths sewn shut. Now, in addition to going up to the roofs, they burned some mattresses. ..”
Greece, Samos: riot and arson in asylum seekers camp More here
26/4/20:
Argentina, Concordia: prisoners try to escape, burn mattresses, following news of sections of ruling class calling for release of former politicians from prison; prisoners’ families surround prison
25/4/20:
France: report on revolts in refugee/migrant detention centres
24/4/20:
Argentina, Buenos Aires: prison riot (videos & links)
“Police surrounded the prison, which holds around 2,200 inmates, as explosions were heard, AFP reporters at the scene said. A group of prisoners managed to climb onto a roof, burn mattresses and throw objects at security guards trying to quell the uprising. Authorities later confirmed that at least 11 individuals had been injured. Inmates could be heard shouting demands for a judge to hear their case and for better protection against the pandemic, just a few days after a warden at the Villa Devoto prison was confirmed to have contracted the novel coronavirus.”
21/4/20:
Argentina, Corrientes: prisoner killed, several hospitalised, including 2 screws, after screws stop prisoners’ attempts to climb wall
19/4/20:
Canada, Ontario: prisoners speak out about conditions and support…prisoner support caravan
14/4/20:
Colombia, Barrancabermeja: prison riot (includes video)
“Prisoners mutinied in Barrancabermeja asking for assistance in the face of the Covid-19 crisis…
A riot occurred on Tuesday afternoon in police cells, in the Las Granjas neighborhood of Barrancabermeja, where 53 detainees are staying. The inmates set fire to the facilities, asking for immediate attention in view of the imminent spread of the Coronavirus, assuring that there are prisoners with health problems. … the prisoners set fire to mats as a protest against the overcrowding they suffer. Little by little the fire spread, generating a large column of smoke that alerted the inhabitants of the neighborhood. Ambulances and firefighters, as well as members of the riot police, immediately arrived after one of the inmates took a gun from a patrolling policeman’s holster and began to shoot into the air causing panic …For several hours, the detainees took control of the police station, preventing the uniformed men from entering. Finally they let the fire brigade in to put out the flames that kept spreading and scorching everything in their path. After the mediation of different organizations for the defense of human rights, the inmates reached an agreement with the authorities and allowed themselves to be transferred to the citizen coexistence center located in the Primero de Mayo neighborhood until it is defined where they will be taken…”
13/4/20:
Peru, Ancon: prison riot over lack of food and medicine
“Inmates reportedly burned mattresses, as a means of claiming the alleged lack of food and medicine. In addition, residents of the penitentiary center indicated that shots were heard.
Relatives of some of the inmates also indicated through social networks that one of the demands is also for them to be tested for coronavirus.”
Cameroon, Yaoundé: prison disturbances as 3 prisoners die of virus; built for less than 800 prisoners, this prison holds at least 5,000
12/4/20:
Indonesia, Manado: prison riot after screw contracts virus
“A riot in a prison in Indonesia’s North Sulawesi province where at least one guard is reportedly exhibiting COVID-19-like symptoms has highlighted the risk posed by the coronavirus the Southeast Asian nation’s 524 overcrowded jails. On Saturday afternoon, the inmates of Tuminting Prison in the city of Manado went on a rampage and set fire to buildings. Hundreds of police and soldiers later stormed the jail with live rounds being fired and at least one inmate shot in the chest… the riot began after rumours spread among the inmates that a guard was suspected to have the coronavirus. When demands for mass testing by other inmates went unanswered by prison authorities, they became incensed and demanded to be released. There has been no confirmed case of COVID-19 inside Indonesia’s correctional facilities. But a source inside Tuminting Prison, who spoke on condition of anonymity over fears of reprisal, said officials were trying to hide the start of an outbreak. “There are other prisoners with symptoms but there are no testing kits so they can’t confirm a thing. They don’t want it to come out, but the jails are probably full of it,” the source said.”
Prison on Sulawesi island during a riot, late Saturday and Sunday morning (April 12)
11/4/20:
India, Delhi: migrants get furious in detention centre
“Authorities are overwhelmed by the number of seasonal homeless workers since confinement in India. On Saturday April 11, a riot broke out in one of the centers which is trying to accommodate them in New Delhi. It is a sabotage that reflects the saturation and despair that reigns in centers for migrant workers in India. Three buildings were set on fire by their occupants in New Delhi, near the Yamuna River. The shelter hosted daily workers without any resources and unable to return to their countryside, while economic activity and transport are paralyzed in India. Scheduled for a hundred people, it housed and fed thousands chaotically since confinement. Clashes between staff and occupants broke out over food on Friday. The police then intervened brutally and four workers jumped into the river. One of them drowned there, which in turn exploded the protest the next day. Saturday night, the fire was brought under control and the police said they had arrested six rioters.
More than 200 centers are trying to manage the social emergency in the Indian capital, but the problem crosses the whole country. In Gujarat, hundreds of migrant workers rebelled on Friday evening and set fire to cars to claim shelter and food.“
12/4/20:
Just translated article on the Modena prison uprising in March and the mass murder by the state that followed
10/4/20:
Russia, Angarsk (Siberia): prison torched during riot More here
US, Kansas: prison riot
“The prisoners ransacked offices, broke windows and set small fires for several hours before the facility was secured [sic/k]”
9/4/20:
Dominican Republic, San Domingo: prison riot as prisoners die from virus
“…the reason why the inmates rioted was mainly because they alleged that the cases of inmates infected and killed by COVID-19 inside the compound are more than those mentioned by the authorities.”
Greece, Eleona: riot at women’s prison after prisoner dies
“The prisoners burned mattresses and called for immediate measures to protect their health and reduce overcrowding.”
….”
8/4/20:
US, Washington state: over 100 prisoners riot
US Prisoner uses his banned mobile phone to beg for help amid coronavirus pandemic
Argentina, Cordoba: prison riot
7/4/20:
Lebanon, Tripoli: prison riot
“A fiery prison riot broke out in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli on Tuesday, a day after security forces thwarted a potential escape attempt that inmates’ relatives said was tied to fears over the spread of the new coronavirus. The riot at Tripoli’s Qoubbeh Prison left at least four inmates wounded when security forces fired rubber bullets, according to activists with contacts inside the facility. Local media reported a “number of injuries”. ..Two videos reviewed by Al Jazeera showed dozens of men crowded into a large hallway in the prison, a few holding large knives, as fires burned. They chanted for a general amnesty that has been promised by establishment politicians for many years but has repeatedly faced stumbling blocks. Among those who have advocated to be included in an amnesty bill are people arrested or wanted on charges of committing petty crimes, drug crimes and “extremism”….The large riot came fewer than 24 hours after security forces discovered a tunnel several metres in length during an operation at Zahle Prison in eastern Bekaa Valley. A security source said security forces on Monday evening raided a section of the prison housing a large number of inmates after learning that “prisoners were attempting to escape”. Relatives of inmates at the Zahle Prison said the prisoners’ attempt was tied to fears that the coronavirus would spread rapidly inside the overcrowded detention facility…Lebanon, with a population of about six million, has registered a total of 548 cases to date. Nineteen people have died, and 62 have recovered, according to the information ministry. Officials say no cases of coronavirus have been found among prisoners…The security source said an altercation took place between security forces and inmates during the operation. The inmate’s relative said that several inmates had been wounded. One officer had stabbed by an inmate but was in stable condition, according to a representative of a committee of families and notables who have long been pushing for the general amnesty, known as the “Amnesty Committee”…Since mid-March, inmates at Lebanese prisons have organised a number of protests, some of which have turned into riots as the coronavirus outbreak worsened in the country. Inmates have demanded to be released from detention centres that are operating at more than double their capacity. Officials say they are seeking to secure the early release of up to a third of the country’s roughly 9,000 detainees, specifically those with fewer than six months left in their sentences.”
Colombia, San Juan de Pasto: at least 7 screws injured in prison riot
“For more than two hours there were riots and fires in the Pasto prison…Inmates of the Pasto judicial prison protested inside the compound, where the presence of firefighters was required to extinguish the fires that they generated in the cells where they burned mattresses….”
5/4/20:
Italy: report on protests and hunger strikes in refugee detention centres…Caserta: 150 prisoners riot
4/4/20:
Turkey, Batman: prison riot
“Turkish parliament’s Justice Commission on Saturday approved a divisive draft law that would release up to 100,000 inmates to stave off the spread of the deadly coronavirus, while leaving journalists and political prisoners in jail to fend for themselves….Shortly after the decision, reports came in on a prison riot erupting in the Kurdish-majority city of Batman….Fire has broken out … The draft legislation…could see the release of up to 100,000 prisoners, or about a third of the incarcerated population, by expanding the criteria for granting early release. However, the COVID-19 mitigation measure does not cover the thousands who are in pre-trial detention or sentenced for terrorism offences or crimes against the state… the proposal would pardon the perpetrators of the Soma and Ermenek mining disasters that killed a combined 301 and 18 people respectively, the Çorlu train accident that killed 25 passengers and the Aladağ dormitory fire that killed 12, including 11 children.”
US, New Jersey: beds burnt in prison riot
1/4/20:
France, French Guyana (South American department of France): prison revolt
Prisoners stole the keys to the cells, then set fire to a corridor. No-one is hurt. The state has decided to disarm the watchtowers and all the screws have withdrawn, but outside gendarmes are moving in.
29/3/20:
Iran, Shiraz: another prison riot as state temporarily releases 100,000 prisoners!!
“Iran had temporarily released around 100,000 prisoners as part of measures taken to contain the pandemic, leaving an estimated 50,000 people behind bars, including violent offenders and so-called “security cases,” often dual nationals and others with Western ties. Families of detainees and Western nations say Iran is holding those prisoners for political reasons or to use them as bargaining chips in negotiations… a riot broke out at Adel Abad Prison…prisoners broke cameras and caused other damage … No one was wounded and no one escaped.” More here…Prisoner describes riot and tyrannical prison regime
Thailand, Buriram: about 100 prisoners burn and wreck their forced confinement
“..five inmates managed to flee and … one has already been recaptured…”
A friend wrote: “the automatic reaction of many prisoners now is to attack, and the automatic reaction of the majority of the so-called free is to surrender. With this in mind, it’s also interesting to notice that one of the most pertinent texts written on this phenomena was written already in 1946:
“Of course this transformation of a human being from an individual, whose essence is continuity of experience and memory, into a unit of atomized reactions is carried further among the trapped victims than among the population at large. But the difference is only in degree, and if we only cite examples from reports from the detention camps, it must always be remembered that the population at large was aware of both mass arrests and the terror within the concentration camps. Thus the terror actually visited upon the bodies of Jews, ‘radicals,’ Poles, etc., terrorized the minds of all, which was indeed its primary function.
The breakdown of memory and experience has been described by a German psychologist, Kurt Bondy, who was himself in a concentration camp for a time:
This uncertainty about the duration of the imprisonment is probably what unnerves the men most. . . . They try to forget. The past becomes uncertain and nebulous, the picture of their family and friends indistinct. . . . Here are the roots of hopelessness, apathy, indifference, despair, distrust, and egocentricity. (“Problems of Internment Camps, Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 1943.)
voidnetwork.gr/2018/06/28/terrors-atomization-man-leo-lowenthal-1946”
28/3/20:
Iran: another prison riot, prisoners escape
“In the afternoon of March 28, detainees at Alvand Prison in western Iran’s city of Hamedan mutinied because the inhuman mullahs’s regime refuses to release them during the coronavirus epidemic . Several of them managed to escape. The guards and the pasdarans opened fire. In clashes between prisoners and law enforcement, fire broke out in sections of the prison and the fire continued for a long time. Also the day before, following mutinies in Khorramabad and Aligoudarz prisons, inmates at Saghez prison mutinied and a large number escaped. The situation in prisons is deteriorating day by day. A number of detainees, in particular in Oroumieh prison, Fashafouyeh detention center in Greater Tehran and Ghezel-Hessar detention center died from coronavirus.“
Belgium, Jamioulx: prison riot
“Tensions in the country’s prisons continue. This Saturday afternoon, around twenty detainees refused to return to their cells at Jamioulx prison. The detainees started several fires in the courtyard. In particular to bikes under repair (the Villos of Brussels [ local state-provided bikes] which are repaired in Jamioulx). It took the intervention of 60 police to impose calm and allow the firefighters to extinguish the start of the fires. The fire that did the most damage – to an office – was put out . The inmates broke the window before setting fire to the interior. Firefighters and ambulances were still on site this Saturday evening at 7 p.m. But no one was injured. The detainees wanted to resume visits by relatives. Visits have been impossible since confinement. Some also wanted to get out of prison or be placed on a surveillance bracelet to avoid possible contagion by the coronavirus. The damage was significant and the detainees were confined to their cells for 48 hours before being able to go out again. Other similar incidents have disrupted other prisons across the country in recent days. Everywhere it’s the coronavirus epidemic that is causing concern and frustration among inmates. Prison staff are also in difficulty. Without sufficient sanitary means and chronically understaffed.” Video here.
27/3/20:
Iran: various prison revolts
“On Friday, March 27, 2020, prisoners in the Saqqez Prison in Kurdistan rebelled in protest against the mullahs’ refusal to release them amid the Coronavirus outbreak. A large number of prisoners managed to escape after clashes with the IRGC forces and prison guards. The IRGC-affiliated Fars News Agency reported that the 80 prisoners had escaped. Subsequently, repressive forces were deployed across the city to recapture fugitive prisoners. The regime was forced to dispatch forces from nearby towns to Saqqez to control the situation. On Thursday, March 26, 2020, prisoners in sections 7 and 9 of Tabriz Prison, who were exposed to Coronavirus, also rebelled. The guards brutally opened fire on defenseless inmates and wounded at least seven. The prisoners disarmed and clashed with the guards. Several prisoners managed to escape. Previously, inmates in Aligudarz Central Prison and Khorramabad Prison had rebelled with some managing to escape. Many prisoners were killed or injured as a result of the repressive forces that opened fire on them. Contrary to its propaganda, and while the Coronavirus is widespread in prisons, the mullahs’ regime, has not only refused to release prisoners even temporarily, but also has continued to imprison new inmates without quarantining them. So far, several infected prisoners have died in Greater Tehran Central Penitentiary (Fashafouyeh), in Urmia and in other prisons.”
More here
Belgium, Liege: prison “disturbance”
“A serious incident occurred during the return to the courtyard of Lantin prison this Friday afternoon, at the end of which six detainees sought refuge on the roof of a prison block. Following this incident, the guards decided to launch a 24-hour strike, starting at 10 p.m. this evening. The common union front of guards at Lantin prison (Juprelle) filed a strike notice on Friday evening. From Friday 10 p.m. to Saturday 10 p.m., the prison will therefore operate with minimum service. According to union representatives present on the scene, when the courtyard was brought in, an inmate rebelled and tried to climb onto a roof. He then fell and guards intervened to rescue him. A dozen other inmates of the prison then assaulted them: three officers were injured and taken to the hospital, which they left in the evening…Six inmates have entrenched themselves on the roof of Block U of the sentencing home. At 7:30 p.m., the police were on site and were trying to dislodge them. The mayor declared that shortly after 9:30 p.m. the 6 detainees were still there. The other detainees have joined their cells and the situation in this area is under control. The reasons for this incident are that…living conditions in prison have been made more difficult with the coronavirus crisis since inmates are notably no longer entitled to visits. With the Coronavirus epidemic, Lantin prison, like others, has been facing increasing tension in recent days. The detainees are confined 23 hours a day in cells, visits have been suppressed as well as all activities proposed within the prison.“
Brazil, Sao Paulo: massive jailbreak in several jails
26/3/20:
Iran: prison riot
“…after the protests by hunger strike of the prisoners in some Iranian prisons, due to the poor prison conditions and the spread of the corona virus and even the deaths of several prisoners, the prisoners in some wards of Tabriz Central Prison, a city in the northwestern country have rebelled. According to the official reporting from the state news agencies, the police forces have besieged areas all around and heard gun shotings. The hypocritical and oppressive Shia Islamic Caliphate has attacked the defenseless prisoners with tear gas and direct gunfire and has also injured several of the prisoners “
25/3/20:
Argentina, Santa Fe: Prison riot sparked by prisoners demanding better hygene and health protection for potential Coronavirus
“Prisoners from two pavilions started fires that sparked new confrontations with the agents of the Penitentiary Service, with the balance of three injured inmates, who had to be hospitalized.
The riots occurred in pavilions 1 and 5 of the prison, which has a total of 1060 inmates. At those two points the prisoners came out into the hallway and began burning mattresses and urging other inmates to bow to the mutiny. Agents from the Special Penitentiary Operations Group (GOEP) broke into the conflict zone and new clashes ensued. Three detainees were admitted to the Cullen hospital in Santa Fe. One of them reportedly lost an eye, hit by rubber pellets during the repression.
The climate was once again rarefied in Penal Unit No. 2 due to delays in the entry of food that relatives bring to the inmates, which until Monday was closed, although it was allowed again after the bloody riots. “The problem is that inside the” bagayos “(the packages that carry the visits) the drug enters the jail. And since it was prohibited, narcotics are not entering the jail, something that alters the inmates,” said a senior official. of the Santa Fe government.
“The problems that erupted in the Santa Fe prisons will not end in one day, because the structural crisis of the penitentiary system, with an overpopulation of more than 1,000 inmates, added the specific inconveniences caused by the pandemic,” he assured LA NATION, the Undersecretary for Penitentiary Affairs and Policies, Héctor Acuña.
So far, there are no inmates or agents of the Penitentiary Service infected with coronavirus. The inmates’ claim, which began in the Coronda prison – where inmate Alan Montenegro, a member of the Barrabrava de Colón died – and expanded almost at the same time to Las Flores and Piñero prison, arose because the inmates were demanding more Hygiene and health measures in the pavilions due to the danger of contagion of coronavirus.
The riots broke out a day after the Provincial Public Service for Criminal Defense presented a habeas corpus in which it denounced “deficiencies that violate human rights” and “non-compliance with the sanitary measures that should be adopted in the framework of the pandemic” .
On Tuesday afternoon, the Santa Fe criminal judge Susana Luna ordered the authorities of the provincial Penitentiary Service to implement a series of sanitary measures to prevent the circulation of the coronavirus in prison establishments.
The prisoners of Las Flores denounced today that they did not have water nor to hydrate themselves. Is that the prison was totally destroyed after the riot. The mutineers broke pipes and the entire electrical installation. Not only did they set fire to part of the pavilions, but they looted and burned the pharmacy, the infirmary, the school and the work rooms.
Judge Luna’s ruling also contemplated that inmates, as well as prison officers, should take their body temperature permanently in order to detect any possible symptoms of Covid-19.
In dialogue with LA NACION, the head of the Provincial Public Service of Provincial Criminal Defense, Jaquelina Balangione, stated: “We have been denouncing the serious situation of the Santa Fe prisons for a long time, with an overpopulation of more than 1,000 inmates, but which is now adding to the coronavirus crisis. ”
“Life in prisons is inhumane, with overcrowded and unhealthy conditions that are more serious at this time,” said the official, who asked prosecutors and judges in Santa Fe to speed up instances to decongest prisons through house arrests. , transitory exits and parole.
“At this time it is crucial to solve the prison overcrowding,” he said, while specifying that in the provincial penitentiaries “there is capacity for 5758 inmates and there are currently 6667.”
The focus of the tension is in the Las Flores prison, where the most violent riot occurred, where four inmates of one of the two pavilions arrested for sexual crimes were killed. Police and Prison Service officers found three fully charred bodies. But the concern of government officials is also about the two largest prisons: Coronda and Piñero.” More here
Belgium, Arlon and Leuze: prison riots
“The coronavirus in Belgium has led to strict containment measures implemented ten days ago to contain its spread. These have resulted in tensions in some prisons in the country which turned into rebellions this Wednesday evening in Leuze-en-Hainaut and Arlon.
The coronavirus brings prisons to boiling point. Wednesday evening, a series of detainees refused to return to their cells after the courtyard, in Leuze-en-Hainaut and Arlon. This Thursday morning two prisoners were still “recalcitrant” but everything is now back to normal, says the spokesman for the Prison Administration, Kathleen Van De Vijver.
Shortly after 8:00 p.m. Wednesday, the police force of the area of Tournaisis went to the prison of Leuze-en-Hainaut, where a group of prisoners still refused to return to the cells. Since confinement, the yards are insured but restricted to small groups of prisoners.
“At 5 p.m., there were 21 prisoners outside. At the end of the courtyard, eight of them refused to return to their cell. They demanded on the one hand more call credits for their telephone and also a full canteen. Currently, some products (crisps, cigarettes, soft drinks, cookies …), supplied by a supermarket, are not available. But as of next Monday, we should be restocked, “explains Kathleen Van De Vijver.
Two detainees were still in the courtyard on Thursday morning, but have now agreed to return. At Arlon prison, about thirty prisoners who refused to return to their cells Wednesday evening, after the courtyard. The police arrived at around 10:15 p.m. and began a discussion with the detainees, who then agreed to return.
“However, eight leaders have been provisionally placed in think tanks pending disciplinary proceedings,” said Kathleen Van De Vijver. Until April 5, at least, all prisoners are denied access and they no longer have any common activity (sports, library, lessons). The three daily meals are provided as well as the yards, the logistical tasks (cooking, cleaning …) and workshops for external firms.”
Some links to worldwide prisoner responses to the pandemic:
US: https://perilouschronicle.com/2020/03/23/14-escape-yakima-county-jail-during-covid-19-crisis/
https://mobile.twitter.com/perilousprisons?lang=en
Trinidad & Tobago: https://www.stabroeknews.com/2020/03/17/news/regional/trinidad/trinidad-prisoners-attempt-breakout-during-covid-19-riot/amp/
Scotland: https://www.edinburghlive.co.uk/news/edinburgh-news/video-shows-coronavirus-prison-riot-17969746.amp
Iran: https://tsarizm.com/news/middle-east/2020/03/24/prisoners-riot-in-iran/
Jordan: https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/coronavirus-two-left-dead-prison-riot-jordan-after-visits-banned
Sri Lanka: https://economynext.com/police-probe-anuradhapura-prison-riot-as-death-toll-increases-60909/
24/3/20:
Iran: another report on prison riots
UK, Lothian: prison riot
Honduras, Tegucigalpa: riot
“Protest in Honduras because of lack of supplies against coronavirus.
The protests were sparked after eight days of quarantine for the health emergency.
With the use of tear gas, the Honduran police faced protests by several citizens on Tuesday due to the lack of food and the curfew imposed because of Covid-19, local media reported.
According to local media reports, the protests began on the North Boulevard of the Honduran capital, led by transporters who demand that the government allow them to work because they depend on it for their daily livelihood.
In addition, there were other groups in different points of the capital, that demanded to be allowed to work for the distribution of food.
The riots peaked on the North Boulevard when protesters erected barricades with burning tires to close streets.
One of the groups was that of the workers in the transport area – drivers, collectors and dispatchers – whose units remain paralyzed before the curfew. They claim to have no food for their families because they subsist on a daily basis.
This group was joined by another in the La Popular neighborhood, which demands that the government allow them to circulate to earn their livelihood.
“We don’t have food, as long as they don’t support us we won’t move from here,” said one of the neighbors. “We need milk, diapers and food,” he added.
Honduras, with 36 confirmed cases of the new coronavirus, has declared a “health emergency” across the country, has closed its borders and imposed a curfew that is “absolute” in six cities.
In addition, the government announced on Monday that it will provide food aid to 800,000 families.”
Colombia, Cucuta: Prison riot provoked by virus
“During the morning of this Tuesday, detonations of firearms were heard and a fire was recorded in one of the patios of the La Modelo prison in Cúcuta.
While some family members were preparing to enter the penitentiary center with the aim of giving prisoners personal hygiene items, shots were heard inside the prison.
At least 250 inmates attacked the guards and set fire to mats. Inmates throw rocks and threaten Inpec members with artisan-made weapons.
The situation is critical, from the roofs of neighboring houses and nearby hills, amateur videos have been recorded showing a group of inmates running on the roof of the prison and guards from Inpec shooting to neutralize the inmates.
In another video that circulates on social networks, black smoke is evident around one of the courtyards, the product of a fire that occurs inside the prison.
So far, several ambulances have gone to the detention center and leave for nearby medical centers. According to the authorities, 3 uniformed soldiers are reported injured.
Some relatives have released audios sent by inmates from inside the prison. They denounce abuse of power by Inpec and affirm that several inmates remain wounded.
The mutiny does not stop and the Cúcuta Metropolitan Police controls the main access to the prison. The mobile riot squad intervened to contain the family members’ claims. The out-of-jail landscape is tense.
“They are running us with tear gas, we need control entities. There is no presence of the Defensoría or Procuraduría, there are many abuses against the wives and mothers of the inmates, ”said Angela Ochoa, member of the Association of Family and Friends of the Prisoners of Cúcuta (Asofamintercuc).
Last Saturday there was a riot that left four inmates and an injured guardian in Cúcuta. The event occurred simultaneously with excesses that occurred in other penitentiaries in Colombia.”
Argentina, Concepcion (Entre Rios): prison riot
“Inmates of Penitentiary Unit 4 of the Entre Ríos city of Concepción del Uruguay burned mattresses and carried out a riot on Tuesday that was controlled to demand “better sanitary conditions” and in rejection of the cancellation of family visits in order to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
Despite the fact that shots had been heard, and that some prisoners had even climbed to the roof area, there were no injuries or escapes from inmates, police sources reported.
The conflict originated in pavilion 1 of the southeast sector of the prison and continued in the rest of the facilities, where they threw stones, took control of the pavilions, burned mattresses, and climbed the walls.
Related news
Faced with this situation, police and prison personnel began a containment operation inside and outside the prison through “rubber bullet” shots.
According to spokesmen from the Concepción Police Department of Uruguay, the inmates requested “better sanitary conditions” and asked for house arrest for the “prisoners at risk” of getting the coronavirus.
They also protested the apparent decline in kitchen staff and the move to cancel family visits in order to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
US, Georgia: prisoners in ICE detention centres on hunger strike
23/3/20:
US, Washington state: 14 escape jail during crisis
22/3/20:
France, Correze: fiery riot in prison, prisoners go on roof, massive destruction
“In thirty years of service, I have never seen such a thing …” The supervisors of the detention center of Uzerche, in Corrèze, are still in shock. … “Very rapidly, in the courtyard of the promenade, the gates and doors were broken, and the staff had to evacuate the premises. Then a fire broke out and the prisoners ended up on the roof. …The material damage is considerable. Two buildings were completely ransacked, and destroyed by flames. “The third and fourth floors of buildings C and D are 70% destroyed.”
…Rennes: another prison riot
“Sunday March 22, 2020 at around 4:30 p.m. during the second walk round of MA2, the detained people who were on their walk caused a mutiny by trying to break up the path of the walk.
Immediately the alert “MUTINY” was triggered and the Rennes ERIS was called to intervene in the incident, in support of the intervention teams made up of each CPH building.
When the alert was triggered, two teams, each equipped with a pump-action rifle, were set up around the MA2 promenade on the right courtyard (neutral zone) and in the walkway.
One of the teams was obliged to make a warning shot to dissuade the mutineers from any damage to the fence and the intervention door of the promenade.
When ERIS agents arrive at the establishment, once the detention center and related services had been secured, agents equipped with bomber suits were positioned in the hall of the MA2’s RCH to carry out reintegration of mutineers.
As the two MA2 promenades were blocked, the management decided to start with the left course (there were 22 detainees).
The detainees were brought back one by one to the cell by equipped CPH agents.
One of the leaders of the left court was placed in prevention at the QD.
Once the left court was reinstated, the ERIS had to reinstate the right court where there were 51 detainees. The MUTINEERS being much more virulent and refusing to be reinstated despite the warnings from the ERIS, the head of the ERIS made the decision to intervene on the promenade course to put an end to the mutiny.
The detainees were then put back in cells one by one and 2 detainees who were particularly active in the mutiny were placed in prevention at the QD.
Following the securing of the two jail buildings, all the agents (all bodies combined) present on the establishment proceeded to the distribution of meals in safety.
The Director, the following day, made arrangements for the start of walks following the weakening of the intervention door of the right-hand promenade yard MA2.
However, in view of the very tense climate prevailing in detention, we [ie the Force Ouvriere screws union] ask you to further reduce activities and therefore suppress all sports and lock down the entire detention center.”
Colombia, Bogota: prison riots, 23 prisoners killed!
“Twenty-three inmates were killed and 83 injured after a riot broke out in a prison in the Colombian capital Bogota over poor sanitary conditions amid the outbreak of the coronavirus, the justice minister revealed on Sunday. Riots swept across a number of prisons in Bogota, in some of which inmates started fires, activating the alarms for possible prisoner escapes.”
21/3/20:
India, Calcutta: prison protests
Uganda, Aura: prison protests and escape attempts
Colombia: protests in many prisons
20/3/20:
US: report on hunger strikes in migrant detention camps
Iran, Kurdistan: prison revolt; several killed
“…on March 20, 2020, prisoners at the Aligudarz Central Prison, who were in danger of being exposed to the Coronavirus, rebelled and disarmed some of the prison officials, and tried to escape. Clashes between prisoners and guards spread out of prison, and IRGC units entered the scene to suppress the prisoners. The confrontation continued for several hours. Several prisoners managed to escape. Several were killed or injured when the repressive forces opened fire. Several guards were also wounded.”
Turkey, Istanbul: workers at Galataport shipyard go on strike
Chad: prison escape attempt, not much detail
Mexico, Morelos: 3 prisoners killed by state during mutiny and mass escape in garbage truck
19/3/20:
Iran, Khorramabad: major prison revolt with massive outside support
“Complimentary reports of a riot and a number of prisoners fleeing the Parsilon Prison of Khorramabad in western Iran indicate this was a coordinated plan with people involved inside and outside the facility. Reports indicate masked individuals from the city of Kuhdasht, another city in Lorestan Province, western Iran, attacked the prison from the outside. Two or three prison guards were killed in this attack. Due to the attack from outside the prison and riots inside the facility, the prison guards were extremely terrified and lost control of the hectic situation. …prisoners at the Parsilon Prison in Khorramabad (western Iran), who were at risk of coronavirus infection, rebelled, disarmed the guards, and escaped. Prison guards and the repressive forces opened fire on about 250 fleeing inmates and killed several of them. A number of prisoners ignited fires and blocked the road to prevent the repressive forces from chasing them. The IRGC is searching for the inmates across the city of Khorramabad and in the surrounding areas and has set up checkpoints in many locations. …Regime officials have established martial law in Khorramabad and arrested several the locals following the riot in the Parsilon Prison and the successful escape of many inmates. The Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) have launched house-to-house searches in nearby villages in further attempts to apprehend the fleeing prisoners. The locals of Khorramabad have opened their homes to the fleeing prisoners, and many have helped them flee by driving them out of town.”
Chile, Santiago: part of prison set on fire because of Coronavirus-related restrictions; prisoners attempt escape; scuffles with cops by relatives and friends outside prison
France, Argentan: 14 prisoners climb onto roof for a few hours in resistance to enforced suppression of visitors, and of outside workers
“…several rebellious movements also took place in Nantes, Angers, Val-de-Reuil…” [in prisons]
18/3/20:
Romania: 3 die in prison riot
Peru, Piura: prison mutiny – prisoners revolt against suppression of visitors’ rights, cut electricity supply
Spain, Madrid: revolt at Aluche Deportation Prisonprison
riots in 27 Italian prisons and at least 2 prisons in France. In addition, prisoners in Madrid take over a prison section: https://twitter.com/sebastianlotzer/status/1240037694106894339
17/3/20:
Trinidad, Arouca: riot in remand jail over virus fears
Spain, Aluche: revolt in deportation prison
Lebanon: revolt in the prison in Rhoumieh / Lebanon for fear of spreading the virus
16/3/20:
Brazil, Sao Paulo: “disturbances” in at least 4 semi-open prisons
“Prisoners of at least four prison units in the state of São Paulo rebelled on Monday (3/16). All prisons are semi-open and do not have armed surveillance. The Penitentiary Administration Secretariat reports that 1,389 prisoners have fled and, until 3 pm this Tuesday (3/17), 573 have been recaptured. At the CPP (Penitentiary Progression Center) in Mongaguá, on the south coast of São Paulo, at least 8 people were taken hostage and released around 8:30 pm. “The problem is the psychological factor [prison officers taken hostage] that was very shaken,” said Marcio Santos Assunção, legal director of Sindasp (Union of São Paulo State Prison Agents). According to the government, the rebellions also affected three other units: the CPPs of Tremembé and Porto Feliz and the semi-open wing of the Penitentiary 2 of Mirandópolis….The prisoners revolted because of the suspension of temporary withdrawals in March to contain the proliferation of the coronavirus. ..Denunciations of poor conditions at the Federal Penitentiary of Brasília, where the PCC’s summit is located, caused prisoners to refuse to leave for hearings last week. In addition, within two days, two prison guards were killed…. more than ten prison units reported riot on Monday: Mirandópolis, Tremembé, Sumaré, Hortolândia, Oswaldo Cruz, São José dos Campos, Taubaté, Porto Feliz, Franco da Rocha, Irapuru, Campinas and Mongaguá. …Another unit that registered confusion was the semi-open wing of Penitentiary I of Mirandópolis, in the interior of the state. According to a note from SAP, “reeducates in the semi-open wing of Penitentiary I in Mirandópolis committed an act of insubordination, setting fire to their belongings.” The Rapid Intervention Group, made up of prison security officers, intervened. There, the capacity is for 516 prisoners, however, last Friday had 912 prisoners. At the Tremembé Penitentiary Progression Center, in the Paraíba Valley, “there was an act of insubordination”, according to SAP, without specifying which such act. As of last Friday, there were 3,006 detainees in the unit, but the capacity was 2,672. In the note sent, the João Doria management (PSDB) informed that “the units of semi-open regime, as determined by Brazilian legislation, do not have armed surveillance”
… 100s of prisoners escape
“Hundreds of prisoners have escaped from four semi-open prisons in São Paulo state in the south-east of Brazil after Easter prison holidays were cancelled and restrictions on visitors tightened because of coronavirus. Videos showed dozens of prisoners fleeing down a street near one coastal prison and flooding across a soccer pitch on a beach. There were riots and escapes from semi-open prisons in Tremembé, Porto Feliz and a wing of a prison in Mirandópolis in São Paulo state. In one video hordes of prisoners could be seen running away in Mongaguá on the São Paulo coast – where 400 reportedly fled – while a man shouts: “Come back Monday, OK?” Other videos showed dozens on a beach. The G1 news site reported that 40 had been recaptured.The São Paulo state penitentiary department said it had postponed the Easter prison break – one of five annual breaks for prisoners in semi-open regimes who work in the day – because of coronavirus.”
15/3/20:
France, Moselle: About 100 prisoners refuse to return to their cells following prediction of visitor suspension (not yet enforced, though enforced from 17th March onwards)), and already-enforced suspension of outsiders, such as teachers, giving lessons in prison
Jordan, Irbid: prison riot leaves 2 prisoners dead after visits are banned
Virtually no information other than the headline
9/3/20:
Italy: riots in at least 24 “lock-ups” against Coronavirus-related visitor restrictions More here
Just translated article on the Modena prison uprising in March and the mass murder by the state that followed
13/2/20:
Indonesia, North Sumatra: most parts of prison damaged by arson during riot
18/1/20:
UK, Rutland: significan damage during prison riot
27/12/19:
UK, London: 13 screws rushed to hospital following riot in young “offenders” prison
19/12/19:
Greece, Samos: refugees riot in anger at overcrowding and other camp miseries
The camp is now more than 11 times overcapacity, with 7,497 people registered as living in and around the facility designed to house 648. For an anlysis in 2017 of aspects of the refugee situation in Greece, see this.
13/12/19:
Malta: asylum seekers riot in detention centre
12/12/19:
UK, Bristol: 4 screws’ cars sabotaged and immobilised outside youth gaol
20/10/19:
Malta: migrants riot, burn 5 staff cars, at detention centre
24/9/19:
UK, Worcestershire: : disturbing the disturbers
22/8/19:
UK, Winchester: recreation time
19/8/19:
Indonesia, West Papua: 258 prisoners escape during regional uprising “The prison break occurred after protesters set fire to the jail and other buildings in the city. As of August 20, security forces are still searching for escaped inmates. “
12/8/19:
New site about prison revolts in US and Canada: “Perilous – A chronicle of prisoner unrest across the US and Canada, 2010-present “
7/6/19:
Greece, Tyrintha: anarchist imprisoned for firing arrow at cops in 2011 escapes from prison
5/6/19:
31/5/19:
Germany, Bavaria: 4 cops hospitalised as migrants riot in detention centre
24/5/19:
Venezuela, Acarigua: state massacres prisoners following apparent escape attempt “At least 29 inmates were killed…detainees were pushing back against the initiative to transfer them to prisons where their relatives would not be able to visit. The police entered the premises to carry out searches and remove visiting women when the violence started…The police station jail had been designed to hold 250 inmates but was allegedly housing over twice that number. Although police jails are made to hold citizens for up to 48 hours, many inmates spend months in them before being transferred, …Last year, the UN slammed the dramatic overcrowding and dismal conditions in detention facilities across the country. “The infrastructure is infested with rats and insects,” UN official Ravina Shamdasani, “And in many detention centers across the country, detainees have limited access to food and water, including drinking water.”
16/5/19:
Indonesia, North Sumatra: prisoners torch prison during riot …around 500 escape
Langkat prison in North Sumatra
15/5/19:
US, Georgia: prisoners smash windows, etc., as outsiders demonstrate against prison misery More here
11/5/19:
Indonesia, Sumatra: 100s of prisoners escape during riot “A riot broke out in Siak Sri Indrapura Penitentiary in Riau early on Saturday following a drug raid by the prison authority. Several inmates tried to escape and set fire to the guards’ office….They damaged the penitentiary that held 648 inmates and set fire to the gurads’ office. The guards retreated from the prison when the inmates appeared to be in control. Some reportedly heard gunfire from inside the prison….a police officer was hit by a rubber bullet. “There is a missing gun, but it only contains rubber bullets [because conventional] weapons are prohibited inside the penitentiary”“
10/5/19:
France, Rennes: riot in migrant detention centre “A dozen people held in the detention center of Saint-Jacques-de-la-Lande, near Rennes, rebelled in the night of Thursday, May 9 to Friday, May 10, when the police entered to seek a foreigner to be returned to his country. Premises are unusable and the capacity is decreased from 40 to 25….About ten men, detained because they were in an irregular situation in France, took mattresses and clothes out of two buildings. They lit the fire with toilet paper. Some rioters managed to climb on the roof of one of the buildings to express their anger….The police…managed to extinguish the fires, which burned the two buildings. …Both rooms were seriously degraded by thick smoke, caused by fire to the mattresses. They have been closed and are currently unusable. Reinforcements were needed to restrain rioters who did not want to get off the roof. …The volunteers who help the detainees were not surprised by this renewed tension in Saint-Jacques-de-la-Lande. The legal retention period has been increased from 45 days to 90 days. …”There have never been more riots in the CRA in France than in recent months,” said an observer who works for undocumented foreigners. The police have a hard time restoring calm and a spark can easily start a fire.”
2/5/19:
Mexico, Chiapas: 3rd riot in a week at migrant detention centre
25/4/19:
Mexico, Chiapas: 600 escape migrant detention centre
13/4/19:
7/4/19:
1/4/19:
Mexico, Tijuana: riot of migrants in detention centre
Above: migrant camp
“It was not a problem of overcrowding.” – Rodulfo Figueroa, head of the National Migration Institute in Tijuana
15/3/19:
US, Alabama: ‘disturbance’ at county jail
8/3/19:
26/2/19:
Libya, Tripoli: refugees escaping detention centre beaten and tortured
12/2/19:
Haiti, Aquin: 78 prisoners escape during demonstration in front of police station
7/2/19:
South Africa, Eastern Cape: 3 screws stabbed by prisoners
3/2/19:
US, New York: clashes outside jail as prisoners suffer heat & electricity cuts
22/1/19:
Israel/Palestine, West Bank: prison riot and hunger strike
1/1/19:
Belgium, Namur: prisoner confirms Confucius’ saying “The way out is through the door” “…the detainee was cleaning the entrance hall without special supervision. Sometimes the prison door is opened for some outdoor work, and when the door has been opened, there seems to have been some inattention on the part of the guards, so he was able to escape ” (clearly proving Confucius wrong on the 2nd part of this quote – “Why is it that no-one will use this method?”).
30/12/18:
France, Val-de-Marne: prisoner escapes under fire “Around 3.30pm, Sunday, December 30, 2018, a 28-year-old prisoner escaped from the Fresnes prison in the Val-de-Marne. He managed to climb the walls of the penitentiary center, despite being shot at by guards…the guards fired three times with their service weapons from the watchtower. But that was not enough to stop him. It’s likely he would have hurt himself on the hand because of the barbed wire….He was in prison for burglary. According to our colleagues, he had already tried to escape while he was being tried in the court of Créteil, and was therefore subject to special surveillance. A search is still in progress to find him.“
29/12/18:
Australia, Northern Territory: prison riot due to over 40C temperatures “…the prisoners had refused to return to their accommodation cells due to the heat on Saturday. “Officers negotiated and permitted prisoners to stay in the open court yard of the accommodation block where there is better airflow… Some prisoners took the opportunity to cause a disturbance and began damaging property. Once attempts to negotiate those prisoners back into their cells failed, chemical spray was used in accordance with standard procedure to subdue them and swiftly bring the situation under control.” Conditions at the ageing prison are “inhumane” for prisoners living through such heat…“
25/12/18:
9/12/18:
Germany, Bamberg: riot and arson in migrant detention centre “…damage is estimated at about 100,000 euros…Security service personnel who were exposed to disturbances were attacked by residents of the…center. As a result, the situation escalated: several men barricaded themselves in the facility. First incoming police were pelted with paving stones. There was a fire…Only a few weeks ago a major fire happened in one of the buildings of the site, in which at times the entire roof of a dormitory was on fire. None of the 150 residents of the house was injured, police said. The employees of the security service were able to escape into the open in good time. The damage was….about two million euros.“
29/11/18:
Ivory Coast, Bouaké: following wounding by prison guards’ gunfire, university students take over several schools, both private and state, and stop classes “In recent weeks, eruptions of violence have occured in several parts of the country, including Zouan Hounien, in the west, as well as in the regions of Tonkpi and Duékoué, in the Guemon.“ More here
14/11/18:
US, California: riots at 2 prisons No details given here, so it’s not clear whether these were riots between prisoners or an attack on the screws and prison infrastructure or a mixture of the two.
7/11/18:
Tajikistan, Khujand: 22 prisoners and 2 screws killed in prison riot “…six other law enforcement officers with various wounds were hospitalized. The authorities have been largely silent about what occurred but sources close to the Sughd law enforcement authorities say several people convicted of religious extremism and terrorism organized the riot at the Khujand high-security penal colony 3/3. They were reportedly armed with cold steels and one of them managed to disarm a guard, took his assault rifle and began shooting at guards and wardens….Amaq news agency, which is linked to the Islamic State (IS) terror group, reported on November 8 that one of IS fighters “is responsible for the attack in Tajikistan that sparked a prison riot.”” The authorities would say that it was ISIS, whether it was them or not. And often ISIS itself makes claims to bolster its ferocious image, regardless of whether such claims are true or false. Of course, I have no way of knowing what went on, and I suspect very few have, particularly as the whole thing has been surrounded in state-enforced secrecy.
6/11/18:
Australia, Northern Territory: building burns during riot at juvenile detention centre
Don Dale Detention Centre
2/11/18:
anarchist prisoner murdered in Santiago, Chile
1/11/18:
France, Tarn: 2 imprisoned minors totally ransack prison kitchen and TV room
27/10/18:
Australia, Queensland: prison riot “…about 4.50pm on Saturday, a small number of prisoners began breaking windows and being non-compliant in a block of the Maryborough Correction Centre. A fire was started, which was extinguished by the prison’s sprinkler system, while prisoners also accessed a medication tray….”
16/10/18:
France, Nantes: prison construction company car torched
7/10/18:
Mauritius, Port Louis: anti-slavery activists clash with cops after imprisonment of new MP “Police using truncheons and teargas dispersed demonstrators who had gathered outside parliament in Nouakchott to call for the release of anti-slavery campaigner and new MP Biram Ould Dah Abeid. Abeid is president of an unlicensed NGO called the Initiative for the Resurgence of the Abolitionist Movement. He has been in custody since early August after a journalist filed suit against him for “slander, insults and incitement to hatred.” Sure, the guy’s an MP, but at least his NGO is unlicensed and he’s so infuriated a journo-cop that he got sent down for it. Just putting this here because it just seemed a curious moment of a very contradictory instance of class conflict mediated by a political aspect which should be analysed but I know nothing about it other than this.
1/10/18:
Indonesia, Sulawesi: 1200 prisoners escape following earthquake “One prison in tsunami-struck Palu city — built to hold just 120 people — saw most of its 581 inmates storm past guards and escape to freedom through walls collapsed by the massive 7.5 magnitude shake. “Things were initially fine…but not long after the quake, water erupted from under the prison yard causing prisoners to panic and then run onto the road,” said Ministry of Justice official Sri Puguh Utami, adding that the water was not from the tsunami. “I’m sure they escaped because they feared they would be affected by the earthquake. This is for sure a matter of life and death for the prisoners,” she added. Inmates had fled from another overcapacity facility in Palu by breaking down its main door and another in Donggala, an area also hit by the disaster. The Donggala jail was set on fire and all 343 inmates were now on the run”
30/9/18:
UK, Worcestershire: prisoners disturb the disturbers as order breaks out for 9 hours
Guatemala, Fraijanes: at least 7 shot dead in prison riot Report doesn’t make clear who did the shooting – the authorities or the prisoners.
18/9/18:
8/9/18:
7/9/18:
3/9/18:
Australia, Perth: fires as detained migrants riot following suicide attempt “…the incident began as a protest by detainees in the neighbouring Falcon Compound, who wanted information on the man who reportedly self-harmed. … tensions boiled over and it quickly escalated into what …looked like a war zone. “It’s been building for a long time because they over-crowded this bloody centre,” he said. “It’s like a pressure-cooker environment, it’s been building up because detainees have been locked up for many years.” Last night, when all these things had been heating up and the detainees wanted to launch a protest, no one wanted to hear them.” …detainees in the Falcon Compound gathered in front of the officers’ station requesting to see a manager, but “it pretty much fell on deaf ears”….detainees started burning mattresses, clothing and anything else they could get their hands on….A number of accommodation areas were confirmed as damaged by the fire, but the ABF was unable to put a cost on the repairs.A spokesman said some detainees would need to be transferred to other detention centres while repairs were carried out.”…possible closure of detention centre
Imprisoned migrants scale fences during riot at Yongah Hill detention centre, Perth
US: prison strike – prisoners speak out, mainstream media remains mute
2/9/18:
Libya, Tripoli: 400 prisoners escape
31/8/18:
US, Missouri: report on post-riot lockdown and refusal of prison governor to abide by the law
30/8/18:
Libya: report on riots and hunger strikes in refugee detention centres“…97 bodies have been recovered in Libyan waters and an estimated 583 people have died at sea attempting to enter Europe this year”
24/8/18:
US, Texas: small victory of prison strike…?
22/8/18:
21/8/18:
US: prison strike in lots of prisons throughout country
20/8/18:
UK, Birmingham: report on riot cops cracking down on prisoners
19/8/18:
Canada, Nova Scotia: prisoners declare solidarity with proposed 21st August prison strike in USA Not at all clear what this “non-violent protest” is apart from a statement.
8/8/18:
Brazil, Sao Paulo: prison uprising holds 4 clergymen and 2 screws hostage
US, Ohio: prisoners go on work stoppage
2/8/18:
France, Oise: screw hospitalised by prisoner resisting cell search
1/8/18:
France, Val-deMarne: 3rd time in 3 months that prison guard’s cars are torched
24/7/18:
Australia, Western Australia: massive prison riot causes over $2m worth of improvement “…the incident began when about 15 ringleaders lit a fire in a cell. …that number quickly grew to 80 prisoners, before they managed to gain access to the roof and break into non-prisoner areas of the jail. He said prisoners then began ripping doors from cells in the female unit and starting fires in staff control units. More than 160 police officers were sent to the area to assist in recapturing the 10 men who had escaped….an angle grinder and a ladder were used during the break out and WA jails have since been ordered to keep such items out of prison walls.”
Greenough Regional Prison
22/6/18:
18/6/18:
Australia, Tasmania: prison riot “Five prison guards have been taken to the Royal Hobart Hospital after being attacked by inmates at Risdon Prison.
15/6/18:
Israel, Mitzpe Ramon: prison riot following cell phone search
13/6/18:
5/6/18:
France, Valence: 2 screws’ cars torched outside prison Morehere“Photos of the private life of a guard were left behind and an inscription was tagged on a wall saying “first warning “.”
24/5/18:
Germany, Dresden : 50 migrants fight cops & security guards at migrant retention centre
17/5/18:
Venezuela, Barquisimeto: 2nd prison riot in 2 days “Two guards and nine inmates at Fenix Penitentiary, in the city of Barquisimeto, were killed on Thursday after inmates wrestled a gun from prison wardens, sparking an exchange of gunfire”
16/5/18:
Venezuela, Caracas: prisoners riot and take over shopping- mall-turned-prison following torture of inmate More here
““This has been taken over peacefully by all the political prisoners and all the prisoners who are abducted here, who are tortured daily,” a man said in one of the videos. He said tear gas and weapons had been fired at detainees but they were holding out to demand freedom….Activists said the incident had been precipitated by the beating of activist Gregory Sanabria from the state of Tachira. He appeared with a bruised face in pictures on social media. Rights groups and Maduro opponents have said several hundred political prisoners have been unfairly jailed. Maduro has said all jailed activists were being held on legitimate charges of violence and subversion.”
14/5/18:
12/5/18:
US, Missouri: prison uprising “Among other areas, the inmates destroyed the food area, kitchen, and a manufacturing facility after hot-wiring forklifts to break down the gates to get in….” More here “… the inmates began to stage a sit-down protest…that protest quickly turned into a riot….inmates were unhappy with shrinking recreation and program time associated with staffing restrictions….78 inmates destroyed property throughout the facility including a Missouri Vocational Enterprises factory, dining halls and the kitchen. “Property damage was extensive and included destruction of food supplies, graffiti, damage to security cameras, and damage to equipment and machinery throughout the building,” …the CRCC riot destroyed the facility kitchen, inmate work program machines, and caused at least $100,000 in damages.”
9/5/18:
South Africa, North-West: 5 prisoners escape
Indonesia, West Java: prison riot…This report, written after the 2-day hostage-taking and riot ended, says that the prisoners involved were “terrorists”, though what that means in a country where the state is pretty much overtly terrorist is not something I’ve bothered to research for the moment.
US, Louisiana: prisoners go on strike
4/5/18:
France, Toulouse: prisoner escapes
9/4/18:
South Africa, Gauteng: 16 prisoners escape…2 of them later shot dead by the filth
Ukraine, Mykolaiv: prisoners refusing to return to cells categorised as “riot”
Venezuela, Valencia: cops teargas and fire rubber bullets at families of prisoners after at least 68 die in prison riot “…when distraught family members showed up at the attached police station demanding answers, police responded with tear gas and rubber bullets. The riot began on Wednesday morning in a jail in the northern city of Valencia, a once-vibrant industrial hub that has been devastated by the country’s multiyear economic crisis. The jail, which is attached to a police station, was designed to hold just 60 people. At the time of the riot, it contained around 200….the chaos began when inmates took a prison guard hostage and threatened to kill him if their demands were not met. Some inmates set mattresses on fire, and the blaze quickly grew out of control.”
Valencia, 28/3/18
28/2/17:
Greece, Athens: luxury shops smashed up in solidarity with imprisoned Greek anarchist on hunger & thirst strike against his transfer to prison outside Athens On 24th February at dawn, 3 days after the start of his hunger strike, cops entered his cell and violently extracted him for the purpose of transferring him back to the distant Larissa Prison. When the news of this was heard, a mutiny broke out at Athens prison and mobilizations took place in many prisons throughout the country; on February 25th he began to refuse liquids. See also entry for 1/3/18.
19/2/18:
South Africa, Limpopo: 3 prisoners awaiting trial escape
8/2/18:
6/2/18:
25/1/18:
France: report giving details about prison revolts since screws started striking “Thursday, January 18 in Fleury-Merogis, more than a hundred prisoners refused to return to their cells after their walk was cut short, and then began to bang on the doors and insult the staff. …Then in building B2 more than a hundred prisoners refused to go back to their cells after the walk …the protest…lasted more than an hour. …In Longuenesse (Pas-de-Calais), near Saint-Omer, an inmate assaulted two screws early Sunday evening (January 21, 2018), using a table leg (an 80cm iron bar long, 5 cm by 5 cm). The two suffered from bruises on the arm and spent a few hours in hospital. The Force Ouvriere trade unionist Mr. Julien Martin, did not hesitate to describe this attack as an “ambush” and “attempted assassination”. Tuesday, January 23, 28 inmates of the prison of Nantes refused to go back to the cell after the walk around 5pm, for fear of having their free association being completely suppressed. In Uzerche (Corrèze), there was a beginning of a rebellion in the morning after all the prisoners were denied access to the canteen. In the afternoon, a minor in the Pau prison, angered by the screws’ moody tempers, kicked the door of his cell when a female supervisor came to open it. The door smashed right into her face. Stunned, she was immediately taken to the infirmary by the cops who were there to replace the screws on strike. …On the morning of Wednesday, January 24 in Epinal (Vosges), inmates responded with fire to the screws’ blockade: some of them have started fires in one of the narrow corridors of the jail. Moreover, this beginning of revolt forced the “striking” screws to return to work, supported by firemen, cops and prison riot squads to restore order.“
22/1/18:
France: attacks on screws rise to 4000 a year as 2 sets of filth battle it out…report about 26 escapes from new Parisian prison unit since it opened at beginning of December
20/1/18:
France, Hauts-de-France: prison riot “24 inmates gathered in the hallway of wing A2. They broke windows, piled up bins and spilled soap and water to disrupt any intervention. In addition, about 70 inmates were reported to have been outside their cells in three other prison wings. “They blocked the locks, so we can not close them,” said Christophe Muzzolin, secretary of the union FO….The next afternoon, protests continued where about 40 prisoners refused to return to their cells.“
15/1/18:
US, Florida: prison strike against slavery More here. See also this.
10/1/18:
South Africa, Limpopo: prisoner escapes cop van
8/1/18:
US, Ohio: small riot in juvenile detention centre More here “The riot caused an estimated $200,000 in damages to the housing unit”
4/1/18:
Indonesia, Aceh: prison torched during riot
3/1/18:
Australia, New South Wales: riot in maximum security prison
1/1/18:
Brazil, Goiânia: at least 106 prisoners escape during bloody gang-instigated riot
28/12/17:
Bulgaria, Sofia: call for international solidarity with prisoners here
13/12/17:
Madigascar, Ikongo: about 600 people armed with spears and machetes, storm prison, take guards hostage and liberate 120 prisoners More here. It’s not clear what the reason for this was, as the 2 reports seem to differ (though the latter is in Malgache & the Google translate version isn’t clear). From the first one it seems that a prisoner was killed in transit and the crowd wanted to find the prisoners they assumed had done it. In the 2nd it seems like they wanted to free 2 prisoners innocent of the crime for which they’d been imprisoned.
Australia, Perth: small prison riot “…seven out-of-control inmates trashed part of a wing and made threats against staff.”
9/12/17:
Italy, Caltanissetta (Sicily): part of migrant detention camp destroyed in arson attack by refugees
6/12/17:
5/12/17:
France, Paris: failed escape in migrant detention centre turns into riot; whole prison wing destroyed “A failed escape, a mutiny, a dozen deliberate fires and a seriously injured [SF note: by smoke inhalation] prisoner who was barely saved by the police. The night from Monday to Tuesday was very hot at the detention center located in the Bois de Vincennes in Paris. The material damage is heavy. Unit 3, which is home to 57 illegal aliens, has been devastated. It will take nearly two months of work to restore it.”
3/12/17:
UK, Kent: small riot in prison
24/11/17:
France, Paris: crappy “dialogue” over prison reform disrupted with insults, stink bombs, leaflets, etc. Pdf of leaflet in French here
19/11/17:
18/11/17:
New Caledonia: 10 escape from prison; 2 still free next day (19th November)
7/11/17:
Brazil: prison work stoppage across 14 states
Switzerland, Bern: prison construction company vehicles torched
3/11/17:
Chambery: screws cars torched “In recent days, the jailers of the Chambery prison have been receiving a few paybacks for the violence they carry out daily on prisoners. On three occasions, they’ve found their personal vehicle in ashes parked just in front of the jail. On the night of Wednesday 2nd to Friday 3rd November, the car of a screw goes up in smoke. This same agent had already seen his first car destroyed by flames a few months ago. A few nights ago, between Tuesday 24th and Wednesday 25th October, it was the car of one of his fellow tormentors which was burned. The cops say that on the night of one of these attacks, surveillance cameras near the prison filmed two people on motorbikes wearing scream masks.”
27/10/17:
France, Ain: fires started in brief prison riot “…several incidents have occurred in recent weeks in the establishment. The detainees complain in particular about the judge’s decisions to enforce sentences they consider too harsh and the lack of washing machines on their landing.“
South Africa, Limpopo: 6 escape during prison riot “The police in Makhado have opened cases of arson, malicious damage to property and escaping from lawful custody after the prisoners of Kutama Sinthumule maximum prison went on the rampage, torched and damaged some of the prison facilities”
26/10/17:
Indonesia, East Kalimantan: 6 migrants escape from concentration camp
17/10/17:
UK, Sussex: mini-riot in prison Not sure if this was Tuesday 17th or Tuesday 10th
16/10/17:
US, Hawaii: arson at incorrectional center
14/10/17:
US: report on prison rebellions
13/10/17:
Slovenia, Ljubljana: prison riot – 3 prisoners on roof
11/10/17:
UK, Worcestershire: dozens of prisoners attack screws More here “Up to 80 prisoners are believed to have taken part in the incident and used pool balls as weapons.”
10/10/17:
Mexico, Nuevo León: at least 13 prisoners killed by state after guards are taken hostage in riot “…the riot occurred at the state prison in Cadereyta and the death toll could climb because eight people were in critical condition….police using non-lethal force were unable to quell the riot…So authorities decided to use lethal force to protect the lives of the guards and the prisoners. Authorities could see through video monitors that at least one prisoner had already been killed and guards had been taken hostage… The guards were being held and beaten on the roof….The trouble started Monday night when one of the half-dozen gangs that are normally kept apart inside the prison protested. The protest died down, but early Tuesday morning fighting broke out and a prisoner was killed and his body burned…When police first went in trying to take control they were met by about 150 prisoners who attacked them with metal tools and rubble from work that was being carried out inside the prison. No guards were killed in the violence, but a police officer was gravely wounded with a punctured lung.”
4/10/17:
US, South Carolina: prison wing taken over by prisoners “…inmates were on the roof of the facility attempting to escape while a fire raged inside the prison….“All that happened (today) was inmates chasing officers with knives, which (is) pretty standard for (McCormick),” our source said. …“Toilets can’t be flushed and the inmates are not being given drinking water at all!” …“This was rebellion not riot,” a Twitter group that bills itself as advancing prisoners’ human rights noted. “Due to no water being given to drink.” More details here and here. “Authorities were investigating Wednesday how several inmates got to the top of a dorm roof at a maximum-security prison “
2/10/17:
Eire, Laois: confrontations in Portlaoise prison Unfortunately, and typically, these Republican prisoners want to be treated like an elite: although “they were protesting over their living conditions” they also “demanded that they be treated as political and not criminal prisoners“, thus setting up (or reinforcing) a hierarchy between themselves and the rest of the prisoners.
27/9/17:
UK, Peterhead (Scotland): photos of prison riot 30 years ago go on display for first time
Peterhead prison, September 1987
26/9/17:
Canada, Baffin Island: prisoners smash up part of prison “Four… inmates destroyed “85 per cent of the building’s medium security bed space and 33 per cent of the maximum security bed space,” according to information from the Department of Justice….no one was injured in the two-hour-long incident.” More on the conditions of this prison
UK, Liverpool: fires set on 2nd day of prison riot
24/9/17:
Dominican Republic: 4 people escape prison, plus massive looting, in aftermath of hurricane “…police have been kept busy with the latest incident being a prison break that took place late Sunday in which four people escaped. However… two were captured shortly afterwards …”
Latest calls for support from US prison struggles
22/9/17:
Argentina, San Juan: 6 young teenagers burn mattresses etc. in juvenile police station “The kids demanded that their cases be sped up and that is why they decided to protest by burning mattresses and breaking everything. Moreover, after the incident the police station was out of service and the adolescents had to be transferred to other units. Some take a long time, three or four months”
12/9/17:
British Virgin Islands: over 100 prisoners escape during hurricane
10/9/17:
South Africa, Limpopo: 4 prisoners awaiting trial escape from police station
5/9/17:
US, Kansas: huge prison riot “Buildings are burning and some inmates have gotten weapons” More here “…a violent inmate uprising late Tuesday …saw multiple fires set in the facility. Inmates smashed windows throughout the Norton Correctional Facility. They took over staff offices and destroyed computers. They broke into the prison’s clinic and stole syringes. And some were wielding homemade weapons…The Kansas Department of Corrections described the incident as an “inmate disturbance,” but a correctional officer said it was a “full-blown riot” that involved 400 or more inmates in the prison in northwestern Kansas that houses roughly 850. “When a little disturbance is when the inmates take over the facility, I don’t know what a riot is,” said the correctional officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “Basically, they tried to burn the place down.”
3/9/17:
UK, Birmingham: prison “disturbance” “An unknown number of prisoners refused to return to their cells at the end of Sunday evening at the category B jail”. More here…Switzerland, Bâle: 2nd night of attacks on state vehicles “For two consecutive nights in Basel, fire burned cars of this world of control and authority. On the night of Saturday to Sunday 3 September, an unmarked cop car was burned …Then in the night of Sunday to Monday 4 September … a company vehicle, probably a car of the company Swisscom, which went up in smoke.……This fire is also linked to the struggle against the enlargement of the prison at Bässlergut.”
22/8/17:
UK, Cumbria: 9-hour prison riot breaks out after tobacco ban “Inmates smashed sinks, flooded cells and destroyed TVs at the Category C HMP Haverigg as they became the latest prison to be subject to the smoking ban….On Tuesday lags in the Langdale wing of HMP Haverigg, in Cumbria, staged a peaceful protest after they were told tobacco would not sold as part of the all-out ban. But anti-riot units were scrambled after violent confrontations broke out. A source said: “The protest turned violent and the whole place went up. Inmates were smashing up cells, flooding them, throwing TVs, breaking up pool tables. “Staff were forced to evacuate the wing, which was left looking like a bomb had hit it.”… There was also trouble at Cat C Featherstone prison, in Staffordshire, which is also implementing the ban. A dozen inmates refused to be locked up after lunch in protest at the 687-capacity jail going smoke free. Three prisoners were placed on report after guard’s used force to secure them in their cells on 30 July.” More here
Australia, Adelaide: prison riot stops with pizza delivery “Prisoners barricaded themselves inside a cell, lit fires with matches, ripped cell doors off the hinges and smashed appliances before reportedly negotiating with guards to end the protest in exchange for 20 pizzas.”
South Africa, Johannesburg: 20 prisoners awaiting trial escape from prison van
20/8/17:
France, Paris: truck belonging to prison construction company torched
17/8/17:
Switzerland, Zurich: machinery for prison refurbishment destroyed
16/8/17:
Venezuela, Amazonas: 37 prisoners massacred by Maduro’s left-wing capitalist filth during riot
13/8/17:
Morocco, Rif: clashes between cops and protesters demanding release of prisoners
9/8/17:
Australia, Tasmania: prison riot
8/8/17:
7/8/17:
US, Arkansas: screws taken hostage in maximum security Gulag
6/8/17:
France, Toulouse: lorry belonging to construction company for prisons torched (communiqué)
3/8/17:
1/8/17:
UK, Hertfordshire: 2nd day of “disturbances” at prison “Personnel from the Tornado team were called in again less than 24 hours after spearheading efforts to restore order at the Category C adult male training jail. On Monday multiple prisoners were involved in a lengthy disturbance across two wings at the jail, which holds a total of just over 1,000 men. The first episode was resolved shortly after 10pm. No staff or inmates were injured, but dozens of cells are reported to have been damaged.” More here “A prison that has been hit by two days of unrest and disorder has been keeping inmates locked up in their cells for entire weekends for as long as three months… around 50 cells were damaged. Prisoners in the category C jail, which holds about 1,000, had been locked up for the third consecutive weekend, with food being served cold through the cell door. … on Tuesday, trouble began again after prisoners took over a wing of the prison and smashed some windows ……prisoners at The Mount are routinely locked in the cells – known as being “banged up” – from Friday afternoon until Monday afternoon because of staff shortages. Gloria Morrison, campaign coordinator for the Jengba group, which campaigns against joint enterprise sentences, said prisoners were becoming desperate. “Prisoners only want to organise meetings at weekends, because it’s the only time they get out of their cell,” said Morrison, who spoke to an inmate serving a life sentence on Sunday, and his mother on Monday. “It’s not just three weekends that this has been happening, it’s been at least three months. They are not getting fed until the late evening and they are just getting a sandwich, a biscuit and a drink in their cell, there’s no hot food. “I don’t like prisons but The Mount has always been a fairly good nick in the past.” Morrison said visitors were caught up in the disturbance on Monday and weren’t allowed to leave, which was corroborated by one eyewitness”….Wiltshire: 5 screws hospitalised
31/7/17:
UK, Hertfordshire: prisoners briefly take control of 2 wings of hellhole
26/7/17:
Goias: prison riot leaves 4 dead “Four prisoners were killed, and one of them beheaded, in the latest of a string of riots at a Brazilian penitentiary…Nine other inmates managed to use the riot to escape from the prison in the central state of Goias, and four were still at large on Thursday.The violence broke out on Wednesday afternoon, with inmates torching the administration building and destroying a security vehicle in the city jail of Jussara, which housed 77 inmates….“Nine prisoners fled and took weapons from guards,” it added, noting that five of them had been recaptured within 24 hours. Fighting broke out among prisoners from rival criminal gangs, officials said.”
24/7/17:
Guatemala, Guatemala City : prisoners of youth detention centre riot whilst some try to escape “Several minors are being treated for tear gas inhalation or cuts and scrapes suffered when they climbed atop neighboring buildings…. Several of the escapees managed to get on the roofs and threw bottles and rocks at police“
France, Marseille: arson attack on 2 cars belonging to screws
problem with the chokey, Baumettes Prison, Marseille
“Prison is a second-by-second assault on the soul, a day-to-day degradation of the self”
– Live From Death Row
22/7/17:
UK, Worcestershire: small prison riot
21/7/17:
US, St.Louis: demonstrators against suffocating heat of prisoners dismantle perimeter fence outside prison and enter neutral ground “With scorching temperatures expected to reach well over 100 degrees this weekend, protesters are again demanding closure of the city’s medium-security jail, which doesn’t have air conditioning. Police used pepper spray to disperse a crowd who had protested for about two hours…slogans … included “We treat animals better.” …At one point, several protesters climbed under an exterior chain-link fence around the workhouse and a few scaled a second fence closer to the building, but they stopped short of going over its razor wire top….Chants from the protesters of “Let them go” were met with a “Let us out” response from inmates inside who gathered at windows and waved towels” Anarchist report and lots of videos here.
19/7/17:
US, Texas: 2 letters from prisoners about the truly terrifying inhumanity of the Eastham prison unit and the terroristic horrors of solitary confinement…Missouri: as temperatures soar over 38°, baking prisoners have been screaming for help from the
windows for days …St.Louis: demo outside prison in the evening of 21/7/17
17/7/17:
14/7/17:
Eire, County Laois: report of riot squads having been sent to prison 370 times in 2016
3/7/17:
Guatemala, Guatemala City: prisoners escape during riot at juvenile prison after 2 inmates commit suicide “Police launched tear gas canisters while inmates threw stones at the Guatemala City lockup on Monday. Interior Minister Francisco Rivas said about 10 inmates escaped during the riot, but six had been recaptured….The rioting juveniles occupied the roof of the facility in the capital demanding improved conditions, including conjugal visits. In March, a fire at a government facility for abused children killed 41 girls.”
2/7/17:
South Africa, Pretoria: prison riot over parole issues “The riot follows the handing over of a memorandum to the Justice Minister Michael Masuthla two weeks ago from prisoners in three Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal prisons listing a string of complaints about parole‚ overcrowding‚ poor food and violence meted out by warders. Prisoners from several Gauteng prisons told The Times that the strike would begin in other prisons in the province from tomorrow (Monday). “We are gatvol [tired] of the way we are treated. We are not going to let this continue and will do whatever it takes‚ including going on strike‚ to get the minister to address our issues‚” said a Johannesburg Central prisoner. A Pretoria prisoner said the problems had been a long time coming. “We are sick and tired of how the parole boards operate. We are treated like animals. Yes we have done wrong‚ and we have been punished‚ but the prison authorities and parole boards continue to punish by not releasing us on parole when we should be.” He said the strike began when prisoners who were in an exercise yard refused to return to their cells. “When they wanted them to go back to their cells they refused. The warders started pushing the prisoners back‚ but they fought back. Several of them were armed. That’s when they called in the specialised security warders who assaulted the prisoners‚” he charged. Contrary to the official statement‚ he said that at least 15 prisoners and four warders had been injured in the clashes. “One of the warders was beaten with a brick after he called the prisoners the K word. He got what he deserved. He’s lucky he wasn’t killed and the other warders dragged him away‚” the prisoner said.”
28/6/17:
France: report about 3 lorries belonging to company involved in prison construction being torched
24/6/17:
India, Mumbai: women prisoners get violent after screws kill fellow prisoner “Over 200 prisoners and undertrials were booked after they fought off guards to climb out on to the jail terrace to protest the death of Manjula Shete, who was allegedly beaten up following a confrontation with prison officials….a post-mortem revealed that she had sustained internal injuries, including many in the head. This prompted authorities to register a murder case against Byculla jail superintendent Manisha Pokharkar and five guards….DIG Sathe said that this is the first time in her service over two decades she had come across such a violent protest by women prisoners which left many cops injured….The Nagpada police are likely to arrest the jail superintendent and the five guards who have already been suspended…Shete, a Bhandup resident, had been recently transferred from the Yerwada jail in Pune to Byculla recently. It is suspected that she stole two eggs. The discrepancy was found during dinner, triggering a chain of events leading to her death.” More here and here“…a witness described hearing the woman’s screams as female guards forced open her legs and inserted a stick into her vagina. According to reports, the woman was beaten because she complained that prisoners were not receiving sufficient food. She died in a hospital, where she was taken hours after being beaten…She had lain in the barracks bleeding until she lost consciousness,…Six female prison officials, named in the police report for their involvement in the prisoner’s death, were suspended, and the women’s commission of the state of Maharashtra summoned the director-general of police to explain how such a death could happen. All 291 inmates at Byculla jail were booked for rioting in protest of the inmate’s death….Jaising said that the focus on Mukerjea rather than the slain inmate boiled down to a “class issue.” “One of the defining characteristics of India is cruelty to people of the lower classes,” she said. “There is an utter lack of concern for the people of the working class and the underclass. If you look at the facts [of this case], shocking is an understatement.” Conditions in India’s prisons are notoriously bad. Beatings and torture to extract information or confessions are standard. Crowded, dingy cells, poor hygiene and a conspicuous disregard for basic rights are widely documented.” Description of these specific miseries here. “…even the slightest hint of a complaint — over food, lack of space, mosquitoes, or threats from other inmates – can invite several rounds of beatings from the jail staff. “The golden rule at the Byculla jail is, keep your mouth shut. From the time you are woken up at 5 am (see box on jail routine), till the time you fall asleep, say nothing and you’ll be fine,” she said. The Byculla women’s jail has a sanctioned capacity to accommodate 262 inmates, and currently houses 300, of which 17 inmates are accompanied by their children. According to the information accessed by this newspaper, trouble has been brewing over the quality of food handed to the inmates for six months now. Already lodged in filthy conditions: the inmates are given one soap bar to bathe and wash clothes and utensils, there’s barely enough water for bath, and several inmates suffer from rashes and urinary tract infection….Another former inmate, Sheetal Sathe, who spent two months inside the Byculla jail in 2013 on charges of helping the Naxals, said her plight was worsened because she was pregnant. “We were crammed in overcrowded barracks and were at the complete mercy of the jail staff. Inmates who won’t, or couldn’t, pay bribes were at the receiving end of some of the worst torture. There were several inmates who were ailing, but no doctor would visit them,” Sathe said. In 2015, an inmate, Angela Sontakke, went on a five-day hunger strike to protest the plan to install CCTV cameras inside the jail premises. Enraged jail officials subjected her to solitary confinement to “teach her a lesson” More here
Switzerland, Zurich: CCTV camera destroyed during wildcat demo against prison Includes communiqué in German.
18/6/17:
Indonesia, Bali: 4 men tunnel their way out of prison
15/6/176:
US, South Carolina: fires started, screws attacked in prison riot
13/6/17:
India, Kolkata: prison riot between privileged prisoners used as spies and other prisoners
9/6/17:
France, Montreuil (Paris): windows of company collaborating in prison construction smashed
8/6/17:
Canada, Saskatchewan: prison riot causes $100,000 worth of damage
6/6/17:
Mexico, Tamaulipas: 3 cops killed in prison riot ….More here “A prison riot in the northeastern Mexican state of Tamaulipas has left three police officers and four prisoners dead, the state government said on Wednesday.” Not absolutely sure from this report whether this was the work of some drug cartel gang or other or not, but the State of Tamaulipas is almost entirely controlled by narcos, so it probably was..
29/5/17:
US: Folsom prison hunger strike updates
25/5/17:
US, California: hunger strike launched at Folsom Prison “Prisoners in B4 ASU are forced to sit or stand idle in their cells or yard cages without meaningful exercise, education, or rehabilitative programs. We are already forced to endure atypical and significant hardships due to being in segregated housing and solitary confined. When taken together, these conditions constitute cruel and unusual punishment under the US Constitution. We are being deprived of basic human needs, including normal human contact, environmental and sensory stimulation, mental and physical health, entertainment, physical exercise, sleep, access to courts, and meaningful activity. Prolonged exposure to these deprivations has caused and will cause serious physical and psychological harm. FSP (Folsom State Prison) is deliberately indifferent to prisoners suffering. They are aware that prolonged social isolation, and lack of environmental stimuli causes “serious psychological pain and suffering and permanent psychological pain and suffering, and permanent psychological and physical injury.”
24/5/17:
US, California: 8 screws hospitalised in prison riot
Turkey: imprisoned anarchists & others go on hunger strike
15/5/17:
France: letter from anarchist imprisoned for burning cop car
14/5/17:
Australia, Victoria: riot at youth detention centre
13/5/17:
Bulgaria, Sofia: prison workers strike over slave labour
5/5/17:
Australia, Perth: riot in juvenile detention centre
Indonesia, Pekanbaru: over 200 prisoners still at large after over 400 escape
30/4/17:
pdf in French of text in solidarity with these prisoners here
15/4/17:
satellite view of Fleury Merogis prison1/4/17:
Iran, Tehran: horrendous report of prisoners forced to pay 2$ for just half a litre of water
28/3/17:
Mexico, Nuevo Leon: 2 prisoners die on 2nd day of riot “…at least two inmates died and 13 people sustained injuries, including two guards, at the Cadereyta prison near the city of Monterrey….A riot on Monday, in which at least nine people were injured, began as inmates protested the use of X-ray machines to screen visiting relatives, while the one on Tuesday began after inmates set fires and attacked the prison’s pharmacy in what they said was a response to a lack of food and water caused by Monday’s riot. Aldo Fasci Zuazua, the public security secretariat for Nuevo León state, said the riot at the prison on Tuesday began after 56 inmates from the group known as The Renegades broke into the pharmacy to steal medication. Fasci Zuazua said the inmates stole the medication to use them recreationally and burned mattresses in two areas of the prison to distract authorities. He said one inmate died in a hospital after inhaling smoke and injecting or taking drugs, while the other burned to death.”
27/3/17:
Mexico, Nuevo Leon: 4 screws taken hostage during prison riot…video & report here “Four prison guards were taken hostage after a riot broke out at Cadereyta state prison, Monday, with hundreds of inmates reportedly setting fire to mattresses, sending smoke billowing into the sky over the facility. Some 600 members of the prison’s 2,000-strong population allegedly began burning the mattresses in retaliation to strict security controls. The four prison guards were taken hostage during the uprising and at least 45 people, both guards and prisoners, were wounded.”
25/3/17:
24/3/17:
Mexico, Tamaulipas: mass prison tunnel escape and riot precedes fatal clash between prisoners
The interior of the 40-metre tunnel, through which 29 inmates escaped; 13 have since been re-captured
23/3/17:
21/3/17:
Canada, Montreal: 6 youths show their humanity against inhuman conditions
20/3/17:
US, Pittsburgh: county jail attacked by about 25 masked protesters “… a group of 20-25 protesters had become disorderly. They were throwing rocks at the building and setting off fireworks. Windows and glass panels were broken but the jail remained secure. Two Bike Officers were first to arrive on the scene. They encountered a group of people all dressed in black or dark clothing. Their faces were covered with masks or bandannas. Large-scale fireworks were being launched…As members of the group fled, some ran outbound along Second Avenue and others ran down the bike trail toward Downtown and cut through the parking lot. They damaged several vehicles by breaking their side mirrors and broke the mechanical arm of a gate that opens and closes the driveway. An Allegheny County Sheriffs vehicle and a civilian’s vehicle had shattered rear windows. A side door to the Municipal Court Building was graffitied. “ Anarchist report here
19/3/17:
Guatemala, San Jose Pinula: 2 “jail monitors” killed in prison riot “…inmates also started a fire in one part of the prison. Police threw tear gas canisters to control the violent outbreak.”…3rd screw dies
15/3/17:
US, California: several screws injured in prison riot…Nebraska: 4 prison staff attacked by prisoners
8/3/17:
US, California: 2 riots in same prison
2/3/17:
US, Nebraska: 2 prisoners die in riot “…inmates revolted against staff members and started a fire in a courtyard. Prison officials offered few details about the deaths but said the disturbance at the Tecumseh State Correctional Institution in southeast Nebraska involved about 40 inmates in a unit with 128 prisoners. The prison was placed on lockdown for several hours after the inmates refused to return to their cells….inmates had taken mattresses out into the prison yard and threw them into the fire”
1/3/17:
Indonesia, Jambi: prison canteen and meeting hall burnt down during prison riot
26/2/17:
Germany, Staufen: refugees attack security guards in refugee “shelter”
24/2/17:
Mexico, Mexico City: small riot in youth prison
14/2/17:
US, Delaware: 8 screws resign, 7 more file for retirement, after riot in which 1 screw was killed (see entry for 1/2/17)
13/2/17:
Australia, Victoria: teenagers riot in adult maximum security prison Video of riot here
7/2/17:
US, California: prison riot; no details
1/2/17:
US, Delaware: prisoners take over part of prison and hold screws hostage “”…the prisoners are against improper sentencing orders. Status sheets being wrong. Oppression towards the inmates. We’re trying to explain the reasons for doing what we’re doing…Donald Trump. Everything that he did. All the things that he’s doing now. We know that the institution is going to change for the worse. We know the institution is going to change for the worse. We got demands that you need to pay attention to, that you need to listen to and you need to let them know. Education, we want education first and foremost. We want a rehabilitation program that works for everybody. We want the money to be allocated so we can know exactly what is going on in the prison, the budget.”…Screw killedApparently the standoff ended after 18 hours, when guards used construction equipment to smash through a wall, surprising and overwhelming the prisoners.
15/1/17:
Malta: home of sergeant major with prison connections in arson attack
12/1/17:
Australia, Victoria: another mini-riot in a youth injustice centre
8/1/17:
Australia, Melbourne: further riots at youth injustice centre
7/1/17:
Australia, Melbourne: riot pigs crush “disturbance” at youth injustice centre
5/1/17:
France, Valence: 10 kindergarten, primary, middle and high schools have their locks blocked by action in solidarity with revolt in prison (the trial of the “mutineers” starts this day) “Tags left on their walls, as well as a tract …Various messages appeared, such as: “Prison is death. Life is in revolt. Solidarity with the mutineers of Valence and elsewhere “,” In prison the bad guys are above all the screws “,” Tired of homework, long live freedom “, “Every age wrecks their cage “,” Long live the mutineers of the prison of Valencia – trial today, 6/01 to 14h “, “Neither prison nor religion, long live mutiny and insubordination” (on a private catholic school).…
Tract left at schools:
” Hello,
Allow us to waste a little of your time to speak of those from whom the state steals all their time, when it is not their life. It’s happening here very close to you, but also everywhere in France and elsewhere. Yet we do not often talk about these places where the government puts aside those that it considers detrimental to the smooth running of the system. The recalcitrants who no longer accept being crushed, those who initiate a violence which the powerful ones would like to monopolise, or simply the undesirables that can easily be removed in order to perpetuate the established order.
We do not often talk about prison, yet it is part of our lives. When one passes between its walls, when one goes to see a relative in the visiting area, when one submits to its threats. Like the cops and the legal system, it is one of the gears of a machine whose aim is to make us accept without complaint a world based on exploitation and domination.
In recent months rumors have come to us from inside the French prisons. These are the cries of some of the forgotten who try to break through the walls and barbed wire. Vandalism, revolts and uprisings have rapidly exploded since last summer. It seems that some have decided to return some of the violence back to the people who imprison them.
On 25 September at the central building (for those destined to long sentences) of the penitentiary center of Valence, a mutiny broke out. A keychain was stolen from a screw under threat, the doors of the cells were opened by mutineers, furniture and cameras destroyed, fires lit.
Friday, January 6, three people will go to trial at the criminal court of Valence, accused of being the leaders of this revolt. By designating the guilty ones, the law seeks both to punish heavily by example (they risk up to 20 years in prison) and to minimize the collective character of the revolt. Reducing what happened to individual deviations helps to hide the reasons for revolting against imprisonment. This was when the mutiny occurred in a context of general tension within the prison and a second mutiny occurred on 27 November despite the transfers that followed that of September.
To designate leaders is also to satisfy the screws who will be able to generously round up their monthly wages with damages and appease their thirst for revenge. Flatter them a little so that for a moment they stop whining about the conditions of a job they choose to do knowing it is akin to that of a hangman.
Maybe it’s time to listen attentively to what’s happening inside prisons. Not to turn your eyes away again just hoping not to be the next one. To bring our solidarity to the mutineers and those accused of being so. For example by coming to support them during their trial, but also by fighting daily against the disgusting shit that is prison.
SOLIDARITY WITH THE MUTINEERS OF THE PRISON OF VALENCE AND ELSEWHERE”
2/1/17:
Australia, New South Wales: 70 prisoners teargassed in riot
31/12/16:
Similar demos in Greece (Athens), Germany (Dortmund, Flensbourg, Wuppertal, Cologne, Stuttgart & Fribourg) and USA (Ashville, Portland, Oakland, New York, Minneapolis, Bloomington, & Philadelphia)
29/12/16:
Congo, Brazzaville: 3 die – a gendarme, a rioting prisoner and a civilian – in brief prison riot
27/12/16:
South Africa, Limpopo: 50 prisoners attack screws
26/12/16:
South Africa, Port Elizabeth: 3 prisoners killed during riot The riot began as an attack on screws but these reports give no indication of who the prisoners were killed by – prisoners or screws. Given that the authorities would normally indicate that it was prisoners doing the killing, one suspects that this was yet another case of state murder. And this report implies the killings were by the state: “During the attack on the warders, which started in the food hall in the late morning, another group of inmates forced their way into the administration building and locked themselves inside. They used teargas to keep the staff and ERT officials at bay. Some of the records housed in the building were destroyed. Thirteen warders were wounded – some of them stabbed with home-made knives – and 19 prisoners were injured, besides the three fatalities.”
UK, Wigan: noise demo at UK’s “worst jail” “Right now a prisoner takes their own life every 3 days, and many more harm themselves, at the highest rate since records began. “IPP” prisoners, trapped inside without a release date, are the most likely to kill and harm themselves.” IPP: “In 2010 a joint report by the chief inspectors of prisons and probation concluded that IPP sentences were unsustainable with UK prison overcrowding. In 2012 the IPP sentence for new cases was abolished by the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act, although over 6,000 prison inmates remained imprisoned for public protection; over 4,600 remained as of June 2015. Three-quarters of them had completed their minimum term, and about 400 had served five times the minimum.” See also this on IPP.
24/12/16:
Australia, Papua New Guinea: asylum seekers riot at notorious detention centre over death of Sudanese “Asylum seekers held at a Papua New Guinea detention center briefly took control of two compounds and expelled guards following the death of a refugee who fell ill at the center…The man’s death is not being treated as suspicious by Australian authorities, but detainees and refugee rights groups have claimed the man was seriously ill for months and had made repeated requests for medical assistance before the emergency.”
22/12/16:
UK, Isle of Sheppey (Kent): 60 or so prisoners take over prison wing
Swaleside Prison: no face no case
20/12/16:
US, California: 100 prisoners riot…audio & video report on the September 9th prison strike
19/12/16:
UK, Cardiff: Winson Green prisoners barricade themselves in cells in protest against being moved
18/12/16:
UK, Hull: semi-riot in prison “Order has been restored to Hull Prison amid fears 15 dangerous prisoners transferred from Birmingham were attempting another riot….Prison officers said staff had been assaulted, CCTV cameras were torched and inmates refused to return to their cells following the arrival of the prisoners from HMP Birmingham”
16/12/16:
UK, Birmingham: major riot in Winson Green prison “Sources claim the full scale riot started in P Wing when a prison officer was overpowered. They claim it quickly spread to N Wing – and keys have been taken by inmates. One hardened lag, speaking through a relative, said: “I have been in riots before and this is, by far, the worst I’ve come across.”… The prisoner claimed the trouble was sparked by the death of an inmate two weeks ago. It is believed the man committed suicide….it all started over there no being enough hot water in the shower or something like that. There are no officers on the wing now. They have abandoned it. There is major damage to the wing….as I understand it, there is a major disturbance on N Wing which has now spread to L and M wing. “Apparently prisoners started by smashing light fittings and wing fire hoses and that is why they cut off the water. “They tried to get the prisoners back behind doors and as they were trying one officer was threatened with a syringe. Another prisoner came up behind him and snatched keys and broke the security chain.” More here “Water has been switched back on at Winson Green prison and inmates are being encouraged to extinguish fires as safety concerns heighten. With riots raging at HMP Birmingham for nearly 11 hours, fires are burning in several parts of the jail.” and here “When we were told this morning that we were not getting exercise everyone went mad. They have had enough. “They cancel gym all the time, the showers are cold, the food is crap, the heating is never on and we never get our mail on time.” The rioting kicked off at around 9am today as officers were ordered to abandon wings that fell under inmate control. Pictures from inside the jail show inmates wearing stolen police riot gear, bashing down prison doors and showing off a pair of keys.” More here “The incident sparked the takeover of at least four wings of the Category B prison by around 400 criminals – including the gym, pharmacy and security equipment store….It took 14 hours for specialist ‘Tornado team’ prison riot officers and armed police to get the situation back under control…. inmates had breached internal gates and threw paint at the Tornado team as the riot continues to spread…. inmates had breached wings and had entered exercise yards after starting fires, destroying files and throwing computers from windows in the offender management unit….”If they destroy all of those records it is going to take months or even years to rebuild the information.”
Winsome Grin: prisoners dress up in riot gear
France, Creteil (Parisian banlieu): prisoner escapes during his trial
14/12/16:
France,Besançon: 4 ATMs destroyed in solidarity with imprisoned anarchists…Marseille : 2 ATMs destroyed in solidarity with imprisoned comrade
Canada, Saskatchewan: prisoner killed during prison riot “They ripped beds off walls, heavy steel beds. Desks were thrown into a pile. They used them to block doors. Windows were smashed out, they were setting fires to mattresses, smashed the fridges and microwaves. It was confined to one portion of the medium security area — an area that housed approximately 185 inmates. It was in the living unit. …Meal portion sizes may have been a contributing factor, but there’s no way to determine if that was the trigger or not. …It wasn’t just kitchen workers who refused to go to work (on Wednesday). At the point when this happened, everybody — 185 inmates — refused to go to their programs, their work, their school. At that point, normally, we lock up. But when they went to close the area, the inmates refused to go into their cells.”More here. “They smashed out all the lights, all the cameras, all the windows.” The inmates also set up barricades.”
6/12/16:
France, Riom : prisoner escapes during bicycle ride
27/11/16:
France, Valence: new prison riot “… several cells …were set on fire…Shortly after 12:00 on Sunday, two detainees threatened a prison officer with a “knife” , in order to steal his set of keys…The supervisor was then released and was not injured…The detainees then opened cells on the three floors of this section intended for long sentences. A fire broke out …Several cells were burned and water damage was reported but no injuries were reported”
26/11/16:
Myanmar, Irrawaddy: 4 prisoners “riot”
24/11/16:
Bulgaria, Harmanli: refugees trying to escape detention centre clash with cops
22/11/16:
France: Vinci (company involved in prison construction and the Notre Dames de Lande airport project) becomes the object of a fake press release, by supporters of the resistance at Notre Dame de Landes This press release claimed that there’d been 3.4 billion euros worth of accounting irregularities and that the director of finance had been sacked. It included a fake link to a site which was almost exactly the same as the Vinci site, with a phone number to the pre-paid mobile phone of a person who confirmed the report. The media publishes the information immediately and the price drops 18%. Since it is unprecedented to publish such things during stock trading hours, and suspicions were aroused, a 2nd fake communique is issued with the sentence “Malicious people have harmed our group by diverting information that has been leaked from our offices”, which implicitly confirmed the content of the initial communique. Just before the closing of trading, Vinci issues a very clear denial, but they still finished 4% down. The “pirates” welcomed Vinci’s stock market downturn, and attacked them for a variety of projects, notably the Notre Dame des Landes airport, whose forest “already feels its retreat under concrete”, and “the blows that this company constantly gives to the Nepalese and the Indians who die every day on their construction sites in Qatar “.
20/11/16:
UK, Doncaster: “serious disturbance” at prison
15/11/16:
UK: fires etc. at 3 prisons as screws complain about how unhappy their lot is “Six fire engines were called to Channings Wood on Tuesday after a fire started inside the building but the blaze was out when they arrived….An inmate at HMP Featherstone near Wolverhampton contacted BBC WM on a mobile phone which he said had been smuggled in to say the the jail was “totally out of control”. He said inmates were unaware about the protest being staged by prison officers, a claim the Ministry of justice (MoJ) denied. …There were also reports of a small fire in a cell at Norwich Prison on Tuesday which the fire service extinguished.”
Spain, Murcia: attack on cops in migrant detention centre; at least 9 prisoners escape
13/11/16:
Australia, Melbourne: prison riots again “Windows were smashed, walls destroyed and security doors, weighing hundreds of kilograms, ripped down. Hammers, chisels, screwdrivers and lumps of wood were seized from a tool storage area as staff beat a retreat. The 20-bed Eastern Hill unit was flooded after inmates smashed the sprinklers using stolen tools. An angle grinder — used in a metal work program — was then used to cut through locks on several doors and breach restricted areas. Other children, frustrated they were forced into lockdown most of the weekend, began pulling sprinklers in their cells to cause flooding….computers and game consoles were smashed and litres of paint splashed around. Inmates from the West Gate unit later joined in, smashing expanses of ceiling, destroying locks and doors, tearing away electrical wiring and ripping out state-of-the-art security cameras. Some teenagers smashed through the ceiling of an inmate who did not want to take part and beat him. The nightmare for staff was compounded when, at one stage, they had to change their communications channel because they believed inmates had got hold of a radio and were listening in.”
12/11/16:
Australia, Perth: riot in juvenile prison causes at least $350,00 worth of damage “The latest violent incident at Perth’s juvenile detention centre – the 10th in less than two-and-a-half months…The youths barricaded themselves in, removed bricks from walls and threw them at staff, broke every reinforced glass window and pulled panelling and cabling out of the ceiling”…Melbourne: and an even bigger riot in a prison for young “offenders” causes $2m worth of damages “Rioting inmates have destroyed security cameras and ripped ceilings and walls apart, causing an estimated $2 million in damages at Melbourne’s youth detention centre. About 20 inmates at the Parkville facility were left without beds on Saturday night after their cells were trashed. The riot came as an inmate at another prison facility attacked four prison officers, inflicting a serious neck injury….the sprinkler system was also severely damaged after the group broke into one of the buildings and found a sledge hammer and shovel. Computers were then thrown through the windows before the group climbed up on the roof and demanded junk food and a phone…The disturbance is believed to have been started by the same youth who triggered another riot on Thursday at the centre….In September, inmates and staff clashed for three consecutive nights and several juvenile offenders threatened staff and took control of part of the centre….In the separate prison incident on Saturday night, four Port Phillip Prison officers were assaulted during a cell search, with one suffering a suspected serious neck injury.”
9/11/16:
7/11/16:
UK, London: pretty rare, corny, classic yet wonderful escape from famous Caledonian Road prison “It is understood the pair used diamond-tipped cutting equipment to break through their cell bars before scaling an outer perimeter wall….the runaways had folded bedsheets into the shape of mannequins to fool staff into believing they were still asleep… the two men escaped through a cell window on the fifth floor…it was rumoured they had used bedsheets to lower themselves down.” Almost 300 years after Jack Sheppard’s famous escapes and so far modern totalitarianism has yet to find ways to suppress the beautiful innocence of tried and tested proletarian inventiveness. Tempted reflexively to say“Thank God!” – but “Thank the Human Spirit!” is far better.
6/11/16:
UK, Bedford: up to 300 prisoners riot, forcing guards to flee “Reports say “hundreds” of inmates are reportedly causing chaos at the category B jail after “ransacking” guards’ offices and arming themselves with knives….A man claiming to be an inmate said cops have swarmed the prison, with up to 300 prisoners involved in the riot. He told Mirror Online: “We’ve got control of the prison. Prisoners are walking around with knives and coshes. They’ve nicked mobile phones out of the office, everything’s been smashed.”… prisoners ripping up toilets and causing mass damage. Guards are said to have fled the prison” More here “…inmates carrying blades are ransacking guards’ offices, setting small fires and stealing medical supplies.” October 2017 report here and here “…some inmates had no soap, toilet paper or even pillows and were living in cold, cramped and cockroach-infested conditions.”
4/11/16:
France, Toulouse: 3 cars belonging to prison construction company destroyed by fire
29/10/16:
UK, Sussex: prisoners go “on rampage”
28/10/16:
24/10/16:
US, Denver: Starbucks Vandalized in Solidarity with Prison Strike
22/10/16:
Haiti, Arcahaie: over 100 prisoners escape “More than 100 mostly barefoot inmates overpowered guards on Saturday and escaped from a lockup … One guard was reported killed and others were injured. The escapees stole an unknown number of weapons and some exchanged gunfire with police during the chaotic breakout….The inmates attacked after they were released from a crammed holding pen to bathe…Haitian prisons are notoriously overcrowded and many inmates spend years in pre-trial detention….Three prisoner were wounded, including one who died as a consequence of his wounds.” This claims that 174 prisoners escaped.
18/10/16:
17/10/16:
UK, Northumberland: report of how keys stolen during riot force state to spend £1m to change locks
16/10/16:
Brazil, Sao Paulo: 55 prisoners escape after starting fires; 18 recaptured
France, Savoie: prisoners torch parts of prison – 50 cells out of use Video here
14/10/16:
Eire, Dublin: 5 screws hospitalised after attack by prisoners
12/10/16:
US: report that prison strike cost capital $600,000 a day in California
6/10/16:
France: P.M. Valls announces construction of 33 new prisons
sites of the first 9 new prisons to be constructed
5/10/16:
Spain, Murcia: 28 migrants escape from detention centre after revolt
4/10/16:
Ethiopia: prisoners freed during uprising
Chile, Santiago: barricades and clashes in solidarity with several class war prisoners Leaflets scattered around the place, expressing their solidarity with Tamara Sol Farías Vegara, Andrés Aravena (Chico), Jean Gutiérrez (Legua) and other comrades being put on trial in “the PDI case”.
1/10/16:
Greece, Korydallos: prisoners refuse to regain cells in solidarity with American prison strike
30/9/16:
Germany, Berlin: 50 asylum seekers attack guards
29/9/16:
Brazil, Sao Paulo state: 200 prisoners escape after riot, just half re-captured “The riot began at the morning check-up, with prisoners burning mattresses and rushing the fence. Once the fence broke, the prisoners escaped down a four-meter slope and across a road….According to G1, the Jardinopolis prison has a capacity for 1,080 prisoners but currently holds 1,864 inmates.” Latest report says 470 PRISONERS ESCAPED!!!!
27/9/16:
France, Orne: prisoner single-handedly attacks 5 screws……Alabama: report on screws supporting prisoners’ strike
25/9/16:
France, Valence: prison revolt – 2 screws attacked, keys seized, cell doors opened
21/9/16:
US, Alabama: prison dorm resists confiscation of mobile phone, force screws to leave
20/9/16:
Eire, Dublin: riot in youth detention centre “senior management were in the centre all evening but were unable to prevent serious damage being caused to one of the remaining wings of the centre, which is supposed to house up to 90 inmates but is thought to contain only between 30 and 40 now.”…More here “Since the €56m centre officially opened in January last year, there have been dozens of serious attacks on staff leading to high levels of sickness leave….In the last attempted break-out in August eight young offenders broke out of their secured rooms and onto a detention centre roof after a staff member was overpowered and threatened with boiling water. The incident that led to the riot and fire was started while staff were protesting about attacks, injuries and fears for their lives at the gates of the facility in north county Dublin. … the offenders used the protest to their advantage when one requested refreshments, and a staff member who brought them was confronted, threatened and overpowered at the door and had their keys taken. The offender was then able to free others who then took over the accommodation block. Eight offenders then accessed the roof and started pulling the tiles off, and set fire to Blocks 1, 2 and 3. When emergency services were called it is reported that some of the offenders on the roof threw roof tiles down at them. There were no reports of injuries to fire crews, but the blaze took hold and eleven units of Dublin Fire Brigade spent hours fighting the fire. Accommodation Block 3 collapsed due to the extent of the blaze, and Blocks 1 and 2 were left gutted. One staff member was injured and treated in hospital when searching the facility for detainees who had absconded from their accommodation.”
17/9/16:
Australia, Victoria: prisoners riot at young offenders prison “Inmates repeatedly beat down windows and other sectors of the complex as well as allegedly set a building on fire”
16/9/16:
USA, Alabama : screw stabbed by prisoner dies More info on what happens at Holman here and here. Holman Prison, AL: Free Alabama Movement issues press release calling for an end to the humanitarian crisis at the prison. They state through social media that many guards are not reporting to work and that much of the prison remains unguarded…As the prison strike keeps going, following FAM seems to provide pretty current news, re: the CO who was just killed, the strike, etc.
France, Rhone: fire in young offenders’ prison
14/9/16:
UK, Lincoln: screw taken hostage during prison riot
12/9/16:
US, Florida: prisoners take over dormitory “These riots will continue to increase in frequency, increasing the likelihood that our corrections officers will be injured, said Kimberly Schultz, president of Teamsters 2011, the union representing FDC’s officers. She said that prisoners have assaulted 30 officers since April and that one prison, Franklin, has had three inmate riots this year alone.”
France, Vivonne: a hundred or so prisoners revolt and set fire to part of prison More here “A dozen cells were destroyed”
11/9/16:
9/9/16:
A prison radio show about the strike is online and has statements and updates.
Chicago
US: prison strike in 24 states and 40 prisons… More here and here
The friend who sent the following said “hard to tell how connected it is, but i guess well never know…”) :
Nashville, Tennessee
Wewahitchka, Florida
Mayo, Florida This article also references “pockets of inmates refusing to work across the state”. Alsothis reports “smaller [disturbances] were reported in a number of other prisons across the state”.
Bristol, Florida (yet another Florida panhandle prison).
Marquette, Michigan Site of this previous food strike
Tecumseh, Nebraska (in anticipation of sept. 9?)
Waterville, Nova Scotia, Canada
Guantanamo Bay (“small number of men at Camp 6 are continuing their hunger strikes”)
This is from here:
- Alabama: Work stoppage in Holman. Brief report from the inside here.
- Bonifay, FL: Sit down strikes and work stoppages at Holmes. Corporate news report here.
- Florida: “Disturbances” at Gulf and Mayo prisons, as well as “smaller” disturbances at other locations.Corporate news report here.
- Troy, VA: Women at Fluvanna prison participate in the strike.
- North Carolina: Prisoners refuse work. Read brief update here.
- Leavenworth, KS: Chelsea Manning announces hunger strike. More info here.
- Chowchilla, CA: Work strikes and lockdown at Central California Women’s Prison. Brief report says:
A few women incarcerated people refused to work and because of the nationwide prison strike, and fear of an uprising, the prison was locked down stopping ALL slave labor!
- Kansas: Women prisoners strike at an unnamed facility.
- Tecumseh, NE: Three guards injured by inmate. Corporate news report here.
And this references “confirmed strikes underway in Florida, South Carolina, and Texas”
More snippets of information here.
7/9/16:
US, Florida: at least 4 prison dorms barricaded “The action is believed to be part of a nationwide prisoner strike planned for September 9 in observance of the anniversary of the Attica Prison riot that occurred at Attica Correctional Facility in Attica, New York in 1971.”
More here.
See these pages (1, 2, 3 ) about Attica, 1971 (scroll down to the last paragraph of page 1 for the start). “We, the inmates of Attica prison, say to you, the sincere people of society, the prison system of which your courts have rendered unto, is without question the authoritative fangs of a coward in power” – The Popular Manifesto of Attica, September 1971.
6/9/16:
US, Michigan: prison incorrections officer stabbed, another hurt
France, Essonne: arson attack on future detention centre for migrants
4/9/16:
Canada, Nova Scotia: 5 prison staff hurt in “mélée”
3/9/16:
France, Nimes: 6 refugees escape from detention centre, 4 re-captured
1/9/16:
Australia, Perth: mini riot in juvenile detention centre “The Department of Corrective Services’ special operations group were brought in and used flash bombs and pepper spray on four males aged 17 and 18 who barricaded themselves in a wing of the Banksia Hill centre on Thursday. The detainees smashed windows and pulled doors off cupboards, the fridge and oven and the centre was in lockdown from 12.55pm to 2.30pm, according to the CPSU/CSA union, causing up to $150,000 damage. A similar incident occurred on Monday when three teenagers barricaded themselves inside a unit and smashed a television and furniture.”
31/8/16:
UK:outbreaks of rebellion in prison archipielago…Bristol: 2 attacks on screws’ property
29/8/16:
Eire, Dublin: youths set prison on fire
Nigeria, Kuje: prison riot over cellphone confiscation
22/8/16:
Canada, Quebec: an appeal to spread the US prison strike to Canada
20/8/16:
UK, Edinburgh: 3 screws’ cars firebombed
18/8/16:
UK, Bridgend (Wales): prisoner starts 3 fires
Nigeria: prison riot leaves 13 prisoners and 1 screw dead “… the inmates rioted over alleged poor meals served them by the prison officials…. the inmates allegedly snatched a rifle from one of the guards in the prison yard and purportedly shot some of the prison officials which provoked the officials into retaliation.”
14/8/16:
Mexico (Mexico City) : inmates of Teenagers’ detention center block screws from entering and injure three of them (in spanish) Authorities say the action has to do with fights between prisoners, while it seems it has much more to do with the conditions of detention (or detention itself).
11/8/16:
UK, Wolverhampton: week of disorder as screws attacked and ‘multiple’ fires
Chile (Santiago) : barricades and clashes with molotov cocktails in solidarity with imprisoned comrade Tamara Sol (in spanish)
8/8/16:
Italy (Brindisi) : revolt in migrants detention center (in Italian with a few pictures)
3/8/16:
UK, Norfolk: prison governor beaten up in provoked attack “A prison governor has been seriously injured in an “unprovoked” beating at the hands of an inmate….Mr Cawkwell, who has held a number of senior positions in the prison service, has received hospital treatment for his injuries….There have been a number of reports of disruptions at HMP Wayland this year. In May, about 20 inmates were involved in a “food fight” which broke out during lunch, while two inmates attempted to grab keys from officers in a separate incident in June. Another HMP Wayland inmate was jailed in June for an assault on two guards, during which one was bitten, according to police.”
2/8/16:
UK, Northumberland: an eye for an eye, a jaw for a jaw…screw finds himself in hot water “A prison officer has been left with a suspected broken jaw and fractured eye socket after he was attacked by an inmate….A prison officer, who asked not to be named, also alleged an inmate had thrown boiling water over another guard on the same day. The whistle-blower said: “We have lost control of the jail and there will be another major incident if something isn’t done. … staff are scared to go to work.”
1/8/16
US, Alabama: prisoners take over dorm, set fires
28/7/16:
Morocco, Casablanca: buses burnt, 19 security officials hurt, in massive riot in young offenders prison “Twenty-eight people were wounded in a riot … Most of the casualties were admitted to hospital….19 security personnel, firefighters and prison administrators were wounded when officials tried to contain the unrest and restore order. The rest of the casualties were inmates…. the “insurgency and riot”…caused “massive material damage.”
25/7/16:
Russia, Siberia : prison riot (video) “the interior of one of the prison’s buildings was destroyed from within by prisoners breaking off doors, throwing tables and overturning beds” More here: “they barricaded themselves into their barracks and demanded a lighter labor regimen… During the course of six hours of negotiations with the criminals, they were offered various solutions to resolve the situation, and the convicts were guaranteed full observation of their rights and lawful interests. However these convicts refused completely any options offered, demanding a significant weakening of the incarceration regime, which is against the law”… Novaya Gazeta reported that 242 inmates were said to take part in the rebellion”
19/7/16:
Canada, British Columbia: young prisoners smash up detention centre “Inmates started smashing microwaves, windows and other items…The young offenders then broke into a staff area and a second living unit, and continued destroying items, pulling out sprinklers and starting fires…They continued to riot on the second living unit for some time, completely destroying windows, tables, microwaves, dishwashers and sprinkler heads, causing a major flood.” More here: “a rampage that lasted six hours and caused extensive …The Ministry of Children and Family Development confirmed Wednesday that there was a serious incident involving extensive dam-age, including some fire damage, but released few details…. the incident involved seven male youths aged 15 to 17 who extensively damaged furniture and electronic equipment after starting a small fire by putting paper into a toaster — a fire they later put out them-selves….Cronkhite said there is no indication that rival gang tensions were a root cause of the incident. “The primary motivating factor behind the incident appears to have been a room search earlier in the day, which resulted in a loss of privileges.” …Turpel-Lafond said she has been tracking a rise in assaults, saying attacks on officers and on other youth at the Burnaby centre are “routinely reported”
11/7/16:
10/7/16:
US, Kansas: mashed potatoes lead to smashed CCTV
8/7/16:
UK, Birmingham: prison protest after “unexplained” death of prisoner
5/7/16:
France: screw hospitalised by Nice prisoner
1/7/16:
France, Vincennes: refugees at detention centre riot to prevent deportation of one of them to Algeria; 260 square meters burnt out…More here in French (anarchist site)
27/6/16:
France, Essert: 2 Optymo (company involved in prison construction) cars burnt out
21/6/16:
New Zealand, Mt Eden: dormant volcano starts to rumble – prisoners refuse to be locked up
13/6/16:
Mexico, Mexico City: riot and fire at prison suppressed by 600 pigs
12/6/16:
UK, Wiltshire: prison riot after smoking ban “Two wings of the category-C jail were trashed when the caged jailbirds began to battle with each other.Staff struggled to control the chaos at Erlestoke Prison in Wiltshire after a rooftop protest. Toliets were ripped out, rooms were smashed and riot cells doors were kicked in, a lag’s wife claimed…And the inmates ruled the roost until the early hours of Sunday.”
8/6/16:
Thailand (Bangkok) : musician receives two years’ of jail suspended sentence for painting an anarchy symbol on a sign in front of the Criminal Court, after his friend was murdered, and military trial of main suspect seems to cover the murder Gives a glimpse of present repression in Thailand under Military junta’s power, where things such as 20,000 preventive arrests before National holiday (http://www.chiangraitimes.com/thai-police-arrest-more-than-20000-suspected-criminals-in-one-week.html) or sending people to years of jail for very light critics of the monarchy happen on a daily basis. Interesting to see that the sentenced musician (though seeming to put some trust in Justice) seems to receive support, in a very conservative country where his acts (tags) could be seen as pretty offensive. Also good to see that unlike in many public cases, he maintains a non-repentant attitude, when many usually accept their guilt for various crimes, apologize publicly, in the pure Thai institutional Theravada Bhuddism logic. (Note by Pi)
5/6/16:
US, Pittsburgh: 3rd riot in 2 weeks at juvenile centre “Three were arrested for risking a catastrophe”
3/6/16:
France, Essonne: detention centre temporarily evacuated after small bit of arson
1/6/16:
Indonesia, Gorontalo: prison riot ends after long night
27/5/16:
UK, Norfolk: trying to find the key to the doors of perception
23/5/16:
Thailand (Phang Nga, south) : Rohingya migrants escape from detention center, one is killed by police One can never emphasize enough the absolute horror experienced by Burmese , Cambodian or Laotian migrants in Thailand, and the treatment of refugees by the authorities (and by some non-negligible part of the population) over several decades. Thailand did not hesitate, in the late 70s, to return Cambodian refugees, in the middle of the Khmer Rouge horror, across minefields and later to return Vietnamese boat people by sea… similar treatment is reserved today for the Rohingyas of Burma, a group coming from Muslim culture and religion who are escaping the state of Arakan en masse , where they are treated as outcasts.
Whilst this is going on, rednecks from our part of the world (who’d do better by joining the movement happening now) watch “people from Marseille” [French TV reality show] in Thailand – some jerks (who could just as well be from Lorraine or Bearn) filmed close to Phang Nga, Koh Lanta, for the umpteenth pathetic broadcast for which the society of the spectacle has the know-how (and it can keep it!). [Pi]
19/5/16:
France, Marseille: 3 cars belonging to prison guards completly burnt out by arsonists “According to our information, 2 cars belonging to guards of Baumettes [Marseille prison] had already been burnt out a month ago and 3 others three years ago”
Black Maria:
screws screwed
18/5/16:
US, Pennsylvania: riot in juvenile prison
16/5/16:
Switzerland : car belonging to company involved in prison building set on fire (in french)
13/5/16:
US (Alabama) : Alabama Prison Strike Ends After Scabs Brought In would be good to have more info on it, but communicate has some ambigueties to me, see strategy of dialogue led by outside representants (I wrote something on it in french) [Pi]
9/5/16:
8/5/16:
Belgium: report on how 2-week strike by screws is effecting prisons and prisoners “The Belgian government “decided to requisition the assistance of the army, in order to provide additional humanitarian support in the Brussels and Walloon prisons”, said the Prime Minister Charles Michel in a statement tonight. … In this chaotic context, prisoners have revolted in a certain number of establishments: destroyed furniture, beds on fire, broken windows … Lack of sufficient staff due to the strike, the detainees haven’t been able to go out of their cells for fourteen days. They have no outlets in the yard, no family visits and have had the opportunity to have access to showers only three times during the two-week strike…. Amateur images of the prison of Andenne, between the Belgian city of Charleroi and Liège, have been leaked on the internet and social networks this Sunday. A prisoner filmed a scene inside the institution and we see a room ravaged with objects on fire. … “They set fire to pieces of paper or tissues and throw them into the yard. There were some incipient fires but nothing that requires the intervention of firefighters, “…In the prison of Namur, “prisoners are breaking furniture and throwing mayonnaise and urine on the rare guards who are working”
7/5/16:
Belgium, Anvers: major prison riot ” 170 prisoners refused to return to their cells. They set fire to several places and threw stones….according to the mayor the damage is very significant. “This is the largest uprising that’s happened in this prison,” added the mayor. “It caused a fire, walls were broken, windows were broken, locks were foced . This will weigh on our capacity for the coming months. In some blocks, the cells are totally destroyed.”
France, Gard (Nimes): small very lively demo at detention centre for undocumented migrants Lots of tags, a bit of sabotage of centre’s door keypad, traffic disrupted for some time and encouraging support from hooting cars and passers-by.
“Neither documents nor borders” , “Forged papers for everyone!”, “”Neither law nor borders”
6/5/16:
France, Villepinte prison : prisoners refuse to return to their cells for several hours
UK, Norfolk: prisoners show their appreciation of prison food
3/5/16:
Burkina Faso, Dedougou: cops threaten to release all detainees after massive riot attacking them for beating to death man held in custody “…protesters threw projectiles at the police facility, after ransacking the homes of some gendarmes…This has created frustration within the gendarmerie and some police stations are considering releasing their detainees, according to security sources which state that negotiations are underway with the military hierarchy. A government delegation arrived at the scene. For several months, Burkina Faso has been facing a rise in incivility and distrust of state authority. On Saturday, angry people burned a transit bus within the walls of the gendarmerie of Ziniaré, about thirty kilometers from Ouagadougou, after an accident in which a motorcyclist died. In mid-March, a mob consisting of about 1,000 people, confronted the Cinkansé gendarmerie, in order to attack an alleged murderer of two stockbrokers from Cinkansé-Togo, who was in custody in a cell… killing one gendarme and injuring four others.”
More here: http://lepays.bf/mort-dun-garde-a-vue-a-dedougou-population-colere-incendie-domiciles-cb-adjoint/
” …traditional authorities, religious and administrative, were forced to intervene to try to calm the situation down. But it was futile because the event flared up with the sacking and burning of the private homes of the commander of the brigade and his deputy. ”
2/5/16:
Syria: Prisoners seize control following riot
29/4/16:
US, Nebraska: mini-riot in county jail
27/4/16:
Chile, Santiago: building for retired screws firebombed
23/4/16:
Indonesia, West Java: prison riot after suicide of prisoner “Part of the Banceuy Narcotics Prison was set alight during the riot, causing extensive damage to the front of the facility. Two cars and two motorcycles were also destroyed in the blaze, before the arrival of three fire trucks. At least five of the nearly 600 police officers deployed at the prison were injured when inmates threw stones at them, before reportedly setting fire to the building.”
West Java, prison riot – fires started in 6 different places
21/4/16:
Indonesia, Bali: prisoners riot against transfer of murderous gang to their prison “Prisoners inside the prison, numbered in the hundreds, broke windows, threw stones and tried to kick out the returning inmates”
14/4/16:
Thailand, Yala: 1000 prisoners riot, quickly repressed
10/4/16:
US, Tampa: small riot at juvenile prison Check out this on US prison slavery
6/4/16:
Nauru: clashes between guards and migrants at Australia’s notorious detention centre “…members of the Wilson Security emergency response team hit teenagers who had been protesting…the detainees locked the response team members out of part of the camp, and retaliated by throwing rocks and chairs.”
2/4/16:
India, Uttar Pradesh: prisoners take over prison after screws beat up prisoner (video). More here.
1/4/16:
Greece, Chios: 100s of migrants break out of detention centre
31/3/16:
UK, Dorset: fires started in young “offenders” prison “Following incidents on Wednesday, which led to firefighters being called on three separate occasions, there was further trouble today when it was claimed some inmates had tried to flood their cells….Initially, three fires were reported in cells although it was claimed by a prison source that there were in fact many more. …The source said: “There were indeed four prisoners who managed to get onto the netting between the landings. However, there were at least 12 cell fires. The prison was locked down because of the multiple cell fires. “Prisoners smashed up their cells, causing a large amount of damage.”…Birmingham: screw hospitalised during prison protest
22/3/16:
US, Nebraska: riot in juvenile detention centre
Mexico, Oaxaca: CNTE teacher’s protest for political prisoners and block Congress session
Bolivia: rooftop prison riot (video)
Venezuela, Lara state: 14 prison employees held hostage, one prison guard killed, in prison riot
19/3/16:
14/3/16:
US, Alabama: 2nd riot within 2 days at prison See also this and this (both from “It’s going down”). Solidarity with prisoners expressed here.
France, Paris: 3 escape from migrant detention centre
13/3/16:
South Africa, KwaZulu Natal: uprising stops as local state agrees to release 122 prisoners
12/3/16:
US, Alabama: prisoners riot, set fires…warden and screw stabbed… more here “There are videos circulating on social media of prisoners burning the control towers and opening all doors. “We’re tired of this shit, there’s only one way to deal with it: tear the prison down” one of the participants stated.”
…blog by one of the prisoners here, unrelated to the riot.
9/3/16:
New Zealand, Wellington: prison riot “TEARGAS was used to quell a fresh wave of violence that erupted yesterday in the state’s prisons, including a deliberate ambush of guards after two cells were set on fire”
8/3/16:
South Africa, Gauteng: prisoners escape
7/3/16:
Australia, Melbourne: 6 youths riot on youth prison roof for 7 hours
6/3/16:
France, Mesnil Amelot: several fires at migrants’ detention centre
4/3/16
Guyana, Georgetown: 3rd day of prison riot leads to negotiated truce; 17 dead
“The riot first began Wednesday when inmates angered by a search and confiscation of cellphones set fires in one part of the prison, located in the capital of Georgetown. On Thursday, police and prison guards moved in, setting off battles with inmates armed with pieces of wooden bed frames, officials said. Prisoners began the violence anew Friday morning, setting another fire, breaking out of cells and lobbing teargas canisters back at police and prison officers. Soon thereafter a delegation of more than 12 shackled and handcuffed inmates were escorted from the jail to participate in closed-door talks with the South American country’s minister of state and public security minister.”
27/2/16:
France, Toulouse: several trucks belonging to Vinci (famous for prison construction) burnt out
25/2/16:
Papua New Guina : 11 killed in prison escape, more injured, others could escape
24/2/16:
21/2/16:
20/2/16
“Protesters held placards and chanted slogans, such as “stop the police, abolition prisons”…Punches fly as police block #NoPrideInPrisons from their parade. Pride began as protest against police brutality”
17/2/16:
27/1/16:
26/1/16:
25/1/16:
Greece (Korydallos): prisoners protest
23/1/16:
South Africa, Johannesburg: 500 riot outside hospital in response to death in police custody (video)
22/1/16:
Brazil, Recife : second prison breakout in a week, this time 2 killed and only 1 ex-prisoner still on the run
40 are still on the run after last week’s escape.
19/1/16:
Spain : anarchist prisoner Gabriel Pombo da Silva on hunger strike
18/1/16:
France, Moirans – 3 months after direct actions, repression strikes against gypsies demonstrating for prisoner friends
See October 20 news for more on what happened
17/1/16:
Australia, Christmas Island: migrants riot at detention centre
“Detainees set buildings alight and armed themselves with baseball bats in a riot at an Australian immigration facility on Christmas Island…Officials admitted the disturbance, sparked by the unexplained death of an escaped asylum-seeker, was out of control.”
France, Seine-et-Marne: 2 female screws deliberately hit by car and badly wounded in prison car park
16/1/16
Nigeria (Okere): prison riot
“…the inmates had complained bitterly about a lack of water, electricity, and the high handedness of ACP Okoro who always confiscated items donated to the inmates by charities for his own use and mailing these items to his home State of Imo. It was learned that ASP Okoro had recently assaulted an inmate for fetching water in the yard following which the inmates requested to meet with him on Monday through the Prison keeper to register their grievances. However, Mr. Okoro refused to make himself available . It was also gathered that the already inmates demanded to see the Controller of Prisons in the State on Friday. Unfortunately all of their efforts were rebuffed and, as a result, the inmates began a hunger strike and then began to riot on Saturday morning. In response to the riot, the driver of ASP Okoro was seen using teargas on the inmates and in reaction, the inmates destroyed the administrative building and some of their cells and demanded for the immediate sacking of ASP Okoro. …the situation was brought under control by the Nigerian Army, police, and prison warders. The incident caused a serious gridlock on the surrounding road”
France, Calais: 2 refugee prison container construction site machines destroyed in arson attack
Containers were also tagged. The tags were demands or inscriptions such as “Fuck Cameron”…or”Fuck government”
11/1/16:
Guatemala: warden and 19 insecurity guards taken hostage in prison riot
9/1/16
Zambia (Lukulu): 27 prisoners escape when crowd attack police station after man dies in cop custody
“some residents …turned their anger against police, looting, vandalising and breaking locks to the cells holding the 27 suspects who included remandees”
7/1/16:
US, Massachusetts: prison riot; at least 2 screws hospitalised
1/1/16:
Chile (Concepción) : genuinely “happy new year” for prisoner who escapes from jail
This chronology continues here
Leave a Reply