Hostage-taking in Arles prison

Since Friday morning, the central house of Arles, located in the industrial zone in the north of the city in France, has been the scene of a hostage taking, local media report. According to our colleagues from Anadolu, an inmate barricaded himself in the infirmary of this penitentiary establishment.

Under threat of a homemade bladed weapon, he detained five people: four members of the medical staff and a supervisor, reports the daily La Provence. The inmate, aged 37, is well known to law enforcement for various offenses and was sentenced to 18 years in prison for sex crimes. In 2013, he was reported for radicalization. However, this hostage-taking would not be motivated by jihadist reasons but by the refusal to transfer the prisoner, it is specified.

Police forces were deployed around the prison, awaiting the intervention of the intervention and security teams (ERIS). The RAID was also requested by the Bouches-du-Rhône police prefect, according to the same sources.

The Arles central house, built in the 1990s, has a capacity of 159 places and currently accommodates 137 inmates, which corresponds to an occupancy rate of 85%. The establishment therefore does not suffer from prison overcrowding, report our colleagues from Anadolu.

Last October, the FO Justice union said it was concerned about the safety of staff, the care of detainees and the effectiveness of the systems in force in Arles. The union had also pointed out a change in the profiles of prisoners, with an increase in serious psychiatric cases, reports the same media.