The Department of Justice has dismissed the director of the Mas d’Enric prison, in Tarragona, after the murder of the center’s cook at the hands of an inmate. The department has accepted the resignation of the head of the penitentiary center who had made his position available. “The decision has been made by consensus between the director and the Secretariat of Criminal Measures, who agree that it is now necessary to face a new stage in the center after the crisis experienced in recent days,” the department says in a statement.
After the crime, prison officials began days of harsh protests to denounce the lack of protection they experience in their jobs. The centers were locked down for several days, leaving inmates locked in their cells. The officials demanded resignations and dismissals and responsibility for the death of Nuria López, the murdered cook, in the first death of a prison worker at the hands of an inmate in the history of the Catalan penitentiary system. They demanded the dismissal of the Minister of Justice, Gemma Ubasart, and the Secretary of Penal Measures, Amand Calderó.
In the statement announcing the dismissal of the director of the Tarragona prison, Justícia undertakes to reinforce security in the centers. “Surveillance in the CIRE workshops and kitchens will be reinforced, all staff will be provided with emergency communication devices, such as push buttons and walkies, and more workers will be placed in the centers. In addition, the jobs of the employees will also be reviewed. inmates, “evaluating the needs and deficits in terms of security”, maintains the ministry. The Ponent prison, in Lleida, has removed seven inmates convicted of homicide and violent crimes from the kitchen and the Lledoners center has excluded two inmates. All prisons are considering excluding those convicted of blood crimes from the kitchens to guarantee the safety of workers.
