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HOSTAGE

Two guards freed at French prison as hostage standoff ends

An inmate armed with a homemade weapon took two guards hostage at a high-security prison in northwest France on Tuesday before both were freed unharmed five hours later, authorities said.

Two guards freed at French prison as hostage standoff ends
Police tactical units arrived by helicopter as the hostage situation unfolded. Photo: AFP
Police tactical units arrived by helicopter as the hostage situation unfolded at the Conde-sur-Sarthe Penitentiary Centre, which holds dangerous or radicalised prisoners and those with serious discipline problems.
   
The prisoner, armed with the improvised weapon, had taken the guard and the female trainee hostage during meal time, officials said.
   
The guard was released first and then the female trainee was also freed, both “safe and sound”, before the prisoner surrendered, the national Prison Administration Directorate said.
 
Photo: AFP
   
No further details were immediately available about how the guards were freed or whether it involved a negotiation.
   
A justice ministry source said the inmate has a history of psychiatric problems and hostage taking. He has convictions for robbery, rape and for the murder of a prison cellmate.
   
Elite police units had arrived at the prison by three helicopters, an AFP photographer at the scene said.
   
Security measures were increased in Conde-sur-Sarthe after a prisoner stabbed two guards with a homemade knife in March. After failed negotiations to end a standoff, security units launched an assault, wounding the prisoner.

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PRISON

Intern at German prison faces hefty bill after sending photo of master key to friends

A man on a work placement at a prison in the state of Brandenburg was immediately dismissed from his internship after sending friends a photo of the prison's master key via the messenger service WhatsApp.

Intern at German prison faces hefty bill after sending photo of master key to friends
A prison key. Photo: DPA

The man now faces paying a bill of up to €50,000 after Brandenburg’s justice ministry had to pay for the immediate replacement of 600 locks in the prison, Bild newspaper reports.

A photograph of a key could provide enough information for a skilled locksmith to be able to replicate it, leading the prison to fear that keys could be smuggled through to the inmates.

The justice department received a tip off that the intern had shared a picture of the master key for the JVA Heidering prison at the end of February. “A large number of cells and corridor doors had to have their locks changed,” a spokesman told Bild.

Some twenty prison guards worked into the early hours of the following morning to ensure that all the locks were changed.

The prison is situated just outside the city boundaries of Berlin on the southwestern edge of the capital.

“The internship ended with immediate effect and the intern was issued with a ban on entering the building,” the spokesperson said.

SEE ALSO: Seventh prisoner escapes from Berlin jail within a week

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