Black week in Catalan prisons: escape from Mas d'Enric and two deaths at Quatre Camins
An inmate died by suspected suicide on Sunday at Quatre Camins, two days after another prisoner died in the same jail in an assault. The previous Thursday, a man convicted of murder escaped from Mas d'Enric.
Three serious incidents shake Catalan prisons in a single week
An inmate at Centre Penitenciari de Quatre Camins, in La Roca del Vallès, was found dead on Sunday morning in an apparent suicide, according to the Department of Justice. The man was discovered without signs of life during the morning count, around 7.30am, and emergency services were unable to resuscitate him. According to diaridetarragona.com, the prisoner had been held at Quatre Camins since April 2026 and was in the intake module at the time of the incident.
The SICAP-Fepol trade union provided additional details: according to their account, the inmate was found hanging in his cell. The union also noted that the man had spent years going in and out of various penal institutions and was subject to disciplinary restrictions agreed by the prison's management to protect his life and physical integrity. SICAP is calling for the administration to review each case periodically, guarantee appropriate intervention, and consider transfer to another facility when necessary, as provided for in prison regulations.
Murder in the same prison two days earlier
Sunday's death came just 48 hours after the violent death of another inmate in the same prison. The assault took place around 11.22pm on Thursday. Officers found the prisoner unconscious on the floor of his cell; medical personnel subsequently confirmed his death. According to available information, the cellmate is believed to have been responsible for the fatal assault. The exact cause of death and precise sequence of events are pending autopsy and police and judicial investigations.
Escape of a man convicted of murder in Tarragona
On the same Thursday, 17 September, an inmate at Centre Penitenciari de Mas d'Enric, located in El Catllar, escaped during a scheduled outing. The man is Pedro Cea, a 52-year-old resident of Corbera d'Ebre, who is serving a 21-year sentence for the murder of Juan García Riola, committed in 2007.
Cea was taking part in a group outing with a stop at the Les Gavarres commercial complex. He took advantage of a visit to the bathroom at a fast-food restaurant to leave the establishment through the rear door. The Mossos d'Esquadra activated a search operation which, initially, did not allow them to locate him.
Renewed focus on the Catalan prison system
The three episodes—the escape from Mas d'Enric and the two deaths at Quatre Camins—occurred within the same timeframe and have again brought the conditions of Catalan prisons to the centre of debate. SICAP-Fepol insists that individual protective measures cannot be maintained indefinitely without systematic review by the administration.
Source: Google News ES — Crime (es)