Bruges (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – A captive managed to escape from the prison in Bruges on Sunday morning. At about 11:00, a man in his forties fled while cleaning the entrance to the prison. A search operation is underway.
On Saturday morning, around 11:00, a prisoner in his forties escaped from a prison in Bruges while doing cleaning work at the entrance. The prisoner had a position of confidence with a permit of exit, granting him the possibility to leave during the day, and escaped unexpectedly while he was working at the porter’s lodge, where visitors and staff sign in and out, as reported by VRT.
“The man was not under a strict regime. He had a position of trust,”
Says spokeswoman for the Prison Service Kathleen Van de Vijver.
“It is not clear why he ran away. He even has an exit permit that allows him to go outside during the day and has to come back in at night.”
“He went outside last night and then reported back to the complex without any problems. That’s why we think this was an impulsive decision. Perhaps prompted by a personal or family situation.”
The forty-year-old is in prison for drug offences of less than 5 years.
“He is not a danger to society, because otherwise he would not have a position of trust. He probably decided to flee because of a certain situation,”
Van de Vijver continues.
“It may even be possible that he will offer himself today,”
She says.
What is the background of the Bruges prison escape?
The Bruges prison break was alleged to be a dramatic helicopter hijacking of July 2009, engineered to free a dangerous criminal, Ashraf Sekkaki, who had escaped the high-security wing of that prison repeatedly. At an airfield in Diksmuide, a helicopter was hijacked and forced to land in the prison courtyard during outdoor time by inmates. Sekkaki took the opportunity along with two other prisoners, Abdel Had Kahjary Melloul and Mohammed Johry. There was a breakout from one participant.
Later, the helicopter was left in a rural field while the gangsters hijacked a car and briefly took a woman hostage as they fled, probably heading for Brussels rather than across the border to France.Such security features as the cables and poles were only halfway to preventing helicopter landings, while further plans to extend them were on hold at the time, as reported by VRT.
