Malaga prison reports tension after inmate bites guard
The TAMPM union has denounced two violent incidents after which the prisoners could not be put in isolation due to the lack of doctors
Alhaurín de la Torre prison in Malaga province has reported several tense incidents that, according to the TAMPM union, continue happening due to the absence of doctors. This seemingly small detail prevents guards from applying the basic disciplinary protocol in the face of direct aggressions.
On Sunday, one inmate bit an officer on the hand while the latter was trying to restrain him. The same inmate had demonstrated aggressive behaviour the day before, when he threw a shoe at another worker.
After such an assault, the protocol stipulates that the inmate should be transferred to the solitary confinement area. However, the absence of a doctor to certify his condition blocked the protocol. The inmate ended up in the intake unit, due to the legal impossibility of putting him in a confinement cell without medical supervision.
There was another tense moment this past weekend, when one inmate reportedly refused to take his food to his cell during the special Ramadam timetable and confronted staff members. "The situation became so tense that we were on the verge of a walkout across the entire module," workers have said.
The intervention ended with several officers injured and the inmate making constant death threats. Once again, without doctors to authorise isolation, the prisoner had to be taken to the infirmary.
At the same time, officers who carried out a search found mobile phones and narcotic substances. Despite the seriousness of the discovery, the person responsible returned to the regular module for the same reason: lack of basic medical coverage.
TAMPM states that, in the absence of immediate consequences for violent behaviour, the authority of officials drastically decreases. "We fear that responsible institutions will only react when it is too late and a tragedy has occurred," TAMPM said.
