Catalan government braces for more prison staff protests

After two days of prison staff blockades in Catalan prisons in the wake of the death of a cook at the hands of an inmate, the Catalan government is bracing for more protests next week.

Despite lifting the blockades in all Catalan prisons on Saturday night, protesting workers plan to resume protests on Monday.

Catalan Justice Minister Gemma Ubasart stressed on Sunday that "all scenarios are on the table" to ensure normalcy in the prisons. "The situation of the last two days cannot be repeated," she said. 

Although the minister did not specify the scenarios being considered, one possibility if the prison staff protests escalate significantly, is that the Catalan police Mossos d'Esquadra could assume their duties.

"In crisis situations, we must consider various scenarios and make decisions when the time comes," she said.

Ubasart acknowledged the workers' right to protest, but stressed that it must be "compatible" with the functioning of the prisons, as it is an "essential and delicate" service, and that the "rights and freedoms" of inmates must also be guaranteed.

This Sunday, Catalan prisons are operating normally, without blockades and with the regular weekend activities. Prisoners can leave their cells and scheduled family visits and communications are taking place.

1,200 prisoners confined on Saturday

Over 1,200 prisoners were kept in their cells in three Catalan prisons on Saturday as hundreds of prison staff blocked access to these facilities. 

The Catalan government said it was particularly concerned about a hundred female inmates in Wad Ras who remained in their cells for more than 24 hours. 

Only essential services, such as food and medical care, were assured, with no visits, outings, or workshops permitted.

Prison visits spark tensions

On Saturday morning, tension escalated when relatives arrived at the Quatre Camins prison to visit the inmates, especially since weekends are when families typically visit their loved ones. 

Although the protesting workers allowed the relatives to enter the facilities, the visits were not guaranteed due to the lack of staff at the facility. 

The director of Quatre Camins appeared to address the situation, but the protesters turned their backs on him and demanded his resignation.

Inmate kills prison employee

On Wednesday, a woman who worked as a cook at the Mas d'Enric prison in the Tarragona region was fatally stabbed by an inmate, who later died by suicide. 

Sources from the prison workers’ union told the Catalan News Agency (ACN) that the prisoner had recently been removed from kitchen duty because of aggression but had been allowed to return. 

Other sources told ACN that the inmate was an authoritarian and that he shouldn’t have been allowed back in the kitchen. 

The inmate was serving an eleven-year sentence, due to end in April 2027, for stabbing a woman to death in 2016.