Pepper spray used to end Covid-19 related protest in Lelystad prison: report

Prison guards at the Penitentiary Institution in Lelystad used pepper spray to put an end to a protest by prisoners on Sunday, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice and Security confirmed to NU.nl. Sources told RTL Boulevard that the prisoners rebelled because of the measures against the coronavirus in the institution.

The Justice spokesperson would neither confirm nor deny whether Covid-19 measures were behind the protest. Due to the risk of contamination, detainees have not been allowed visitors for nearly a month. Their day program was also limited for the same reason.

The protest started out peacefully in the prison's kitchen, according to NU.nl. Guards intervened when the prisoners started taping the kitchen window closed, resulting in prison staff not being able to see what was going on inside. According to RTL, some 40 to 50 prisoners were involved.