the inmate surrendered, the five staff members released

The inmate held four members of the prison’s medical staff, as well as a guard, for five hours on Friday.

An inmate took several staff members hostage at Arles prison on Friday January 3. He ended up surrendering in the middle of the afternoon, after five hours of negotiations, without causing any injuries. Four members of the prison’s medical staff, as well as a guard, were detained, France Télévisions learned late in the morning from a union source, confirming information from Provence. “Thank you to the prison administration teams and the Raid police officers for their intervention”declared on X the Minister of Justice, Gérald Darmanin.

Aged 37, the inmate, eligible for release in 2031 and known for psychiatric problems, is incarcerated for acts of rape at gunpoint. He was in possession of homemade picks “that he had made for himself”declared the Bouches-du-Rhône police prefect, Pierre-Edouard Colliex, at a press briefing following the hostage-taking. “He was known for acts of violence in detention”he clarified.

On the other hand, he was not “not considered Islamic radical”nor particularly monitored, a prison source said. At the time of the hostage-taking, the detainee was in the infirmary after suffering a hand injury during a fight. He had a “inconsistent attitude, but expressed the wish to get out of prison”declared the police chief.