May 2017 – DISACCORDS

Sydney: Solidarity against repression in Copenhagen

On May 17th police in Copenhagen raided 10 separate addresses, including the autonomous social centre Bumzen, arresting 25 people in all.

They are all facing heavy charges in relation to a riot in inner Copenhagen on March 1st 2017, on the ten-year anniversary of the eviction of Ungdomshuset, a long standing social centre within the far-left scene.

Four of the arrested have been remanded in prison. A number of solidarity noise demos have been called in response, outside the prison in Copenhagen.

On the other side of the world, in Sydney, some anarchists painted a mural in support of the arrested comrades.

No one hostage in the hands of the state.

Malmsbury: Staff members assaulted in Youth Detention Centre riot

15 May – Three staff members have been assaulted after inmates began rioting at the Malmsbury Youth Detention Centre in Victoria.

Emergency services remain at the facility after a group of youths began causing trouble about 2.45pm, police said.

Three staff members were assaulted, and two were treated by paramedics.

One male staff member, aged in his 30s, has been taken to Bendigo Hospital in a serious but stable condition.

Police said damage has been done to the centre.

Investigations are ongoing.

The riot is the latest in a string of violent incidents at Malmsbury this year.

In January, a group of six inmates escaped the facility and stole three cars before being arrested by police.

Pekanbaru: 200 prisoners at large after Indonesian mass jailbreak

Prison buildings seen through a broken window at Sialang Bungkuk prison in Pekanbaru, Riau province.

7 May – Indonesian authorities have said about 200 inmates remain at large two days after a mass escape from an overcrowded prison on Sumatra island.

The breakout at Sialang Bungkuk prison in Pekanbaru on Friday occurred when prisoners were let out of their cells to perform prayers. They broke through a prison door, overwhelming the few guards on duty.

Police said 242 men had been recaptured by Sunday morning, leaving about 200 still at large.

Authorities were initially uncertain how many prisoners had escaped, estimating the numbers at between 100 and 300.

Police said some of the men surrendered or were returned by their families and others were captured by local residents, police and soldiers.

Various officials have said the prisoners were angry about poor conditions and treatment. The prison has a capacity of about 360 but was holding more than 1,870 men, according to a local police spokesman, Guntur Aryo Tejo.

Tejo said four of the escaped inmates were apprehended by police late on Friday about 60 miles from the prison, on a bus heading for West Sumatra province.

Hundreds of police and soldiers have been deployed in the hunt for the prisoners.

Jailbreaks are common in Indonesia, where overcrowding has become a significant problem in prisons that are struggling to cope with poor funding and an influx of people arrested under a “war on drugs”.

Friday’s escape was the biggest since July 2013 when about 240 prisoners, escaped after a deadly riot at a prison in Medan, the capital of North Sumatra province.

Banksia Hill: Juvenile detainees smash windows and light fires as guards hid in locked rooms

banksia hill

6 May – Riot squads have been forced to storm a Perth juvenile detention centre overnight after detainees smashed windows and sparked fires.

Nine detainees reportedly lit scrub fires inside Banksia Hill Detention Centre while they ran amok outside of their cells about 6pm on Friday.

Prison officers at the Canning Hill detention centre, in Western Australia’s south, were forced to lock themselves in fortified rooms fearing for their lives.

Riot squads and mounted police were called in to get the situation under control on Friday

The riot comes one night after three juvenile detainees were injured at the centre in a separate riot.

Officers stormed the facility on Thursday night after five inmates aged between 15 and 18-years-old broke windows and lit fires.

One of the teenagers reportedly got hold of a nine kilogram gas cylinder, which sparked fears the scrub fire could rage out of control.

The police were forced to use flash bombs and pepper spray during the riot, which took two hours to control.

Nine detainees reportedly lit scrub fires inside Banksia Hill Detention Centre while they ran amok outside of their cells about 6pm on Friday

Three inmates were injured with one suffering an asthma attack, one a cut leg and the third an eye injury caused by glass.

This week’s riots were not the first at the Banksia Hill Detention Centre.

The centre has been home to a string of riots, with four reported in the second half of 2016 alone.

On November 12, 2016 the centre was locked down for three hours after inmates threw bricks at the guards, The West reports.

Inmates also threw bricks at the windows causing $150,000 to $400,000 worth of damage.

On September 1, 2016, four inmates armed themselves with home-made weapons and caused $150,000 worth of damage at the centre.
Special riot police were called in when the riot broke out on Friday night – it took them two hours to control the situation

Special riot police were called in when the riot broke out on Friday night – it took them two hours to control the situation

Union secretary Toni Walkington said guards at the centre were ‘outnumbered’ and put in danger due to the high number of inmates.

‘Things seem to be somewhat unsettled,’ she told Seven News.

The Union said Western Australia needed a second remand facility to cater for the overwhelming numbers.

Western Australia’s new Labor Premier Mark McGowan agreed.

Mr McGowan said on Friday there was a chance the Rangeview Juvenile Remand Centre, which closed in 2012, could be reopened.

‘We need to get to the bottom of what’s going on here. This is happening way too often,’ he said.