Armed Indonesian policemen secure the main gate of the burning prison compound in Medan city.
MEDAN, Indonesia: Indonesian police yesterday hunted for around 100 inmates who escaped from an overcrowded jail after setting it ablaze in riots that left five dead, as security personnel regained control of the prison.
Inmates began rampaging through the jail in Medan city on Sumatra island on Thursday, setting alight fires and hurling bottles at guards in anger over power cuts and water shortages.
The Tanjung Gusta jail was engulfed in towering flames and scores of firefighters battled through the night to douse them.
Some 150 prisoners, including militants, escaped and police recaptured about 50 overnight.
“We have gradually regained control of the prison and soldiers have entered it without resistance,” Akbar Hadi Prabowo, spokesman for the directorate general of penitentiary, said.
The Justice and Human Rights Minister, Amir Syamsuddin, has held talks with representatives of the prisoners, Akbar said, adding that the minister will hold a press conference later today.
Prisoners are often held in grim, overcrowded jails in Indonesia, and Tanjung Gusta is no exception as it holds well over double its official capacity of 1,054.
The prisoners were seen casually chatting outside their cells early yesterday while armed security forces formed a cordon round the building. They allowed in about two dozen soldiers but did not let police enter.
“We don’t like police, they are inhumane, they frequently beat us,” one prisoner shouted, as another waved a charred gun and handcuffs at officers.
Three prisoners and two staff died in the riots, the Deputy Minister of Justice and Human Rights, Denny Indrayana, said. The staff had been trapped in their burning office.
About 1,000 police and soldiers were deployed to guard the facility and undertake a search around the area for the rest of the inmates. They include six convicted of terrorist offences, said North Sumatra province police spokesman Heru Prakoso. The prison housed 11 extremists, he added.
Some were jailed for involvement in a camp in Aceh province where, police say, militants were planning Mumbai-style gun attacks on high-profile people. The others were connected with a bank robbery to fund terror activities and the killings of police officers. Prakoso said that 55 inmates were rearrested, including three convicted of terror offences. Ten civilian guards were briefly held hostage during the riots but released late in the evening. The prison had been guarded by civilians.
In February last year, dozens of inmates at the overcrowded Kerobokan prison on the resort island of Bali rioted and set parts of the facility on fire. AFP
