Mass prisoner escape in Delta foiled by police

Police foiled an attempted mass prison escape in the Delta city of Benha, in Qalyubiya Governorate, in the early hours of Tuesday, the official Middle East News Agency (MENA) reported.

This was the fourth report of an attempted prison break in Egypt in two weeks.

The attempted escape took place at the Toukh Police Station, where some 130 inmates reportedly tried to break out of the prison after setting their blankets on fire. Doors were broken and power was cut off to the cells, causing chaos.

The inmates allegedly made use of the fact that the prison was understaffed, with most policemen busy securing neighboring churches on the eve of Coptic Christmas day.

According to MENA, police closed off all roads to the police station to prevent families from reaching their imprisoned relatives, while the 130 inmates were put under strict supervision.

On December 31, prisoners attempted to break out of the Hurghada Police Station in the Red Sea Governorate, according to media reports. The privately owned Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper reported that tens of inmates tried to escape after assaulting a policeman and taking him hostage in one of the cells. Other police later freed their fellow officer and closed off the cells.

On December 30, some 180 prisoners being held at the Shubra al-Khayma Police Station, also in Qalyubiya Governorate, attempted to break out of their cells, according to news reports.

As with the Tuesday morning attempt, inmates set fire to their cells, cut power and assaulted policemen. Relatives of the imprisoned men were alleged to have helped them in their attempted escape. Police foiled the attempt and reportedly found mobile phones and drugs in the cells.

On December 25, Al-Masry Al-Youm and other media reported that five prisoners tried to escape from the Zarqa Police Station in the Delta city of Damietta. Four of the men had just been sentenced to prison terms when the attempt was made.

They also reportedly lit fire to their blankets. Police fired shots in the air to control the ensuing chaos, which saw residents of the area gather around the police station.

A major series of prison escapes took place in Egypt in parallel with the January 2011 revolution, when police retreated in the face of mass protests demanding the end of the Hosni Mubarak regime.

Mass prisoner escapes took place in the Wadi al-Natrun, Abou Zaabal and Marg prisons, where many Muslim Brotherhood leaders, including former President Mohamed Morsi, were incarcerated prior to the January 25 protests.

Many of these leaders are currently accused of having conspired to plan their escape with leaders from the Gaza Strip’s Hamas movement and the Lebanon-based Hezbullah.