The prisoners who were roaming freely around Ghent prison and took a guard hostage after the incidents on Saturday are also suspected of arson, assault and criminal damage. This is according to the Ghent section of the East Flanders Prosecutor’s office. The six prisoners who started the trouble inside the prison were armed with batons and fire extinguishers. They briefly took a guard hostage. Five other guards had to lock themselves away to protect themselves. It took the local police several hours to put all the prisoners back in their cells.
A judiciary inquiry into the six trouble-makers has been opened. They are suspected of hostage taking, assault, criminal damage and arson. The prison said some of them have been transferred to other prisons. The local Ghent police and the Prosecutor’s office were not able to confirm this information. The penitentiary administration spokesman, Laurent Sempot, could not be reached for comment.
No other prisoner has been charged. The current defendants are yet to be questioned by the Ghent section of the East Flanders Prosecutor’s office.
(Source: Belga)
