The hostage-taking lasted five hours. A long and painful moment for the employees of the Arles prison, detained on Friday by an inmate holed up in the infirmary from the remand center. Among the ten specialist supervisors who intervened to avoid a tragedy, one of them agreed anonymously to speak on RTL’s microphone.
Friday, late in the morning, a 37-year-old inmate known for psychiatric disorders threatened three nurses, a psychiatrist and a prison guard. “When the alarm was triggered, we positioned ourselves to secure the area. We have the means offered to us by the prison administration, namely a CRS type outfit, a helmet and a shield“, says the prison guard.
The professional and his colleagues can observe the madman throughout the hostage-taking “through the glass” but also thanks to the cameras equipped in the infirmary. “He had barricaded himself and was preparing for a possible attack”he says.
Weapons “made from iron”
To threaten employees, the inmate uses “artisanal type weapons made with iron”. The prison guard regrets that the prisoners have at their disposal “so many things in their cells” to “arm themselves”.
During the hostage taking, the man sentenced for violent rape to 18 years in prison “complained a lot about his conditions of detention” and “accused the staff and the administration as a whole but also the State. Everyone was angry with him, persecuted him.” “His primary demand was the transfer. He initially spoke to the prefect, then to the minister. He was very agitated”, specifies the witness.
After several hours of negotiations, the hostages were released without any injuries. A happy outcome that we owe to the “professionalism” of a colleague present inside the infirmary, according to the employee of the establishment. “We were lucky to have someone with experience who knew how to keep the staff as safe as possible. He was able to show great courage, he was ready to make the sacrifice if it was necessary.”
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