Malaga province prison reports third assault on workers in one week

The Alhaurín de la Torre prison union has reported a third assault in the centre this week. The latest incident happened around 6pm on Thursday, when an inmate allegedly injured three guards who wanted to search him.

The guards decided to approach the inmate after detecting an object thrown over the wall separating two modules. They suspected that the object could be narcotic substances or a cell phone.

According to the TAMPM union, the workers asked the inmate to let them search him, but he started punching and kicking them. Three guards had to go to the hospital and at least two of them will have to take medical leave due to the injuries.

"Everything suggests that the inmate preferred to attack rather than be discovered with objects or banned substances, which apparently he was carrying," the union has said.

Just a few hours before the incident, the union had held a meeting with the prison management to discuss other recent incidents and the "helplessness" that workers feel within the walls of the centre.

Last Sunday, the TAMPM reported other two violent incidents. One occurred when an inmate bit the hand of a guard who was trying to restrain him due to his aggressive behaviour.

There was another tense moment, 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 TAMPM says that the prison's isolation unit should serve its purpose and restrict "maladjusted inmates". Aggressive inmates, however, often don't end up there, because the guards have to follow a strict protocol and a doctor must authorise isolation.

TAMPM states that, in the absence of immediate consequences for violent behaviour, the authority of officials drastically decreases.