Dozens of inmates from a Buenos Aires prison mutinied on Friday, demanding emergency measures after the confirmation of a Covid-19 case among the guards. Security forces have deployed around Villa Devoto prison, which houses around 2,200 detainees, while detonations have been heard inside the prison, AFP noted.
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A group of prisoners managed to climb onto the roof of the prison, and from there, launch projectiles at the prison security team which is trying to contain the riot. Prisoners call for judge and emergency health measures after a Covid-19 positive case has been confirmed with a supervisor. "We refuse to die in prison," could be read on a banner brandished from the roof of the building.
Among other demands, the prisoners demand that the release procedures that were in progress before the outbreak of the health crisis be implemented. Other riots took place last week in several prisons in Argentina, including one in Florencio Varela, in the province of Buenos Aires, which resulted in the death of a prisoner and twenty wounded.
Since March 20, Argentina has implemented compulsory containment throughout its territory in an attempt to curb the spread of the coronavirus epidemic. The country has recorded 3,423 cases of Covid-19, including 167 deaths.