(Seychelles News Agency) - The Seychelles Police Force intervened at Montagne Posee Prison on the main island of Mahe throughout Thursday night to restore order after inmates staged a riot in the male block against prison officers, taking four prison officers hostage and resulting in the death of one prisoner.

According to information from the police, the riot only tapered off on Friday morning.

Speaking to the media in the morning, the Commissioner of Prison, Janet Georges, confirmed that the riot happened after an inmate, Stephan Mondon, was put in an isolation cell. Georges stated that this inmate has a lot of influence amongst the other prisoners and is allegedly linked to drug trafficking in the prison and that may be the reason why the other prisoners demanded his release from the isolation cell. This was around 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Thursday, when the rioting started.

Mondon is in prison for the importation of drugs. He was sentenced in 2020 to 8 years' imprisonment for importing 33.8553 kilogrammes of cannabis resin in 2017, to which he had pleaded guilty.

“They wanted us to release the inmate Stephan Mondon from isolation. In my opinion, it is not acceptable for prisoners to negotiate the release of an individual who is known to be a danger to others in and outside of prison. This is when I sought the assistance of the police, to intervene. We stood our ground and refused; this is why the riots began. We cannot let them do what they want, they are not the ones in control of the prison,” Georges said. She noted that not all prisoners of the male block took part in the riot and had remained cooperative.

She also confirmed that all four prisoner officers, who had been taken hostage had been released. The police also released a statement saying that one chief inspector of the Seychelles Prison Services had been taken hostage.

Concerning the overall situation at the prison at present, Georges admitted that while the riot had tapered off this morning, possibly due to exhaustion from the inmates, there are still a number of them who are attempting to continue the riot.

Videos on social media of violence

Over the course of last night, many videos surfaced on social media from the inmates themselves who were using prohibited mobile devices to film themselves and the riots happening. The videos showed the inmates throwing objects such as rocks at the prison officers who were attempting to subdue them, some had steel bars and other objects. Fires had been set to mattresses and a makeshift barricade had been made to prevent officers from entering that part of the prison.

Georges confirmed that both a number of officers and a number of inmates had suffered injuries.

Death of inmate

Also present at the press conference, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Francis Songoire, stated that the most serious case was the death of an inmate. He confirmed that the death happened at some point during the riots, and in the meantime, an investigation has started regarding this. “It’s still too early to confirm the circumstances and exact causes of his death.”

He clarified, however, that all officers intervening in the riot used non-lethal weapons.

“It did not take a long time for us to be able to breach the barricade. Following negotiations at that time, three of our officers were released, though the fourth individual who was a senior officer was held for longer though he was eventually released,” Georges said.

She added that “The hostages were not injured, though mentally this will affect them since it’s the first time this has happened to them. In the case of our senior officer, the inmates were attempting to remove his clothing, we don’t know their motives. He had to go straight to the hospital afterwards because of his high blood pressure; an ambulance was waiting for him.”

Damage to prison facilities

Georges noted that the riot also caused quite a bit of damage to the prison, and she is grateful to the officers who stayed up all night to help with the cleanup of the damage and the vandalised facilities. “We’ve tried our best so that the place is at least usable. We’ve had to move some prisoners to other areas so that they have a place to stay,” she added.

Furthermore, she expects that there will be complaints from the prisoners, especially regarding the mattresses and plywood support for the beds and even water damage but pointed out that they were the ones “who tore apart the plywood, set fire to the mattresses and filled barrels of water to throw on the officers.”

Georges also clarified the rumours regarding inmates escaping. She confirmed that this was not the case and that the only prisoners outside of prison at the moment are those receiving medical treatment at the hospital.

She said that the Prison Services will stand its ground and that the inmate the prisoner wished to see released would not be. “For the moment, he remains in the isolation cell. However, due to the character and attitudes of the inmates we have, we don’t think he should be associated again with the male block. We have other options at the prison to accommodate him, therefore, especially now at present, with the situation the way it is he will not be taken back to the male block.”

Through a press release, the Minister for Internal Affairs, Errol Fonseka, also commented on the situation.

“The Ministry strongly condemns the actions of those who instigated and participated in this act of unrest. Such behaviour undermines the collective efforts toward rehabilitation and poses a threat to the safety and well-being of others. Rest assured, we will conduct a thorough investigation to hold accountable those responsible for the unrest, ensuring that justice is served,” he said.

Update: The police reported on December 8 that one more prisoner, aged 70, died while in the emergency care unit at the Seychelles Hospital.