The blockade that prison officials have maintained since early this Friday on access to penitentiary centers in Catalonia is beginning to have serious consequences. The protests have prevented the change of shift and, with staff at minimum levels, the nine centers in Catalonia have seen normality altered. Six of them have been forced to confine inmates to their cells as a security measure: they are Mas d’Enric, Brians 1, Brians 2 (the most populated), Ponent, Lledoners and the Barcelona women’s prison. In total, almost 5,000 prisoners who are only guaranteed the basic supply of food and medicine.
In a press conference this Friday afternoon, the Minister of Justice, Gemma Ubasart, has appealed to the responsibility of the unions so that the centers return to normal as soon as possible and has warned that confinement in cells “can cause a significant tension” and “poses a risk to workers.”
The protest began before 6 in the morning at the Mas d’Enric prison, in El Catllar (Tarragona), where on Wednesday an inmate murdered a cook, Nuria López, and then committed suicide; There, protesters have placed stones and other objects as a barricade. The mobilizations have later spread to all the penitentiary centers in Catalonia; The impact is uneven, but in all cases the normal functioning of penitentiary services has been altered. Ubasart has insisted on the need to resume the “dialogue” and “negotiations” with the unions, which this afternoon were called to a meeting at the headquarters of the Department of Justice but have stood up to the counselor. The officials demand the resignation of the Secretary of Criminal Measures, Reintegration and Attention to Victims, Amand Calderó, as a condition for returning to office.
Calderó has expressed his concern especially about the situation of the confined inmates and the prospect of the weekend, when there are release permits and communications between the prisoners and their families. “For a prisoner, a day in the cell is something important, but if we have the weekend ahead of us, it is a matter of great impact and we must be very responsible.”
Despite the police presence, the blockade has prevented morning shift officials from accessing the centers to start their work day. With staff at minimum levels, the centers’ ordinary activity has had to be drastically modified. The most conflictive situation, where inmates have to remain in their cells, occurs in Mas d’Enric (El Catllar, Tarragona); Brians 1 and Brians 2 (Sant Esteve Sesrovires, Barcelona), Ponent (Lleida) and Lledoners (Sant Joan de Vilatorrada, Barcelona). In the Women’s centers of Barcelona and in Puig de les Basses, Quatre Camins and Jóvenes they have “staff to lead ordinary lives”, although “with some limitations”, according to the Department of Justice. With access blocked, the protests also prevent prisoners who had planned to attend appearances or trials.
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The Minister of Justice, Gemma Ubasart, met at midday by videoconference with the directors of the penitentiary centers so that they give priority to the “correct functioning” of the centers. The department admits that the union protest “has caused alterations in the usual routines” of the facilities and that “various incidents” have also been recorded throughout the morning that have not yet been confirmed. The objective that Ubasart has conveyed is that life in the centers, both for workers and inmates, “is altered as little as possible.” The crisis cabinet is headed by the counselor and the secretary of Criminal Measures, Reintegration and Attention to Victims, Amand Calderó. The workers expressly ask for the resignation of both.
The action has been promoted by the unions but also by the Black Shirts movement, born as a result of the murder of Nuria López, 46, who worked as a cook at Mas d’Enric. The woman was fatally stabbed by an inmate who worked with her in the kitchen. This platform, which transcends traditional unions, already joined a protest in front of the Department of Justice on Thursday to demand the resignation of the counselor. For officials, Nuria’s death represents a turning point in their demands to improve security in the centers. It is the first time, since 40 years ago that prison powers were transferred to the Generalitat, that a worker has died at the hands of an inmate.
The protests have been repeated, since early this morning, in the prisons of Quatre Camins, Brians1 and 2 and Lledoners, among others. Prison workers have placed stones and other objects as a barricade and have also burned some tires, as confirmed by the Catalan police.
The unions have issued a statement taking credit for the decision to close access to the Mas d’Enric center as a protest against the “cruel murder” of Nuria. The staff of the other centers were later added to this closure, with the exception of Puig de les Basses, in Girona. According to a statement from the CSIF union, the protest will continue until “it does not pose a danger to the physical integrity of the workers” and does not entail, either, a “regimental alteration.” They demand, however, that the administration commits to “taking drastic measures” to improve security in prisons and address other workers’ demands.