In the wake of a prison protest at a jail in the western Dutch city of Haarlem, a large number of inmates have been transferred to other jails. The prisoners were protesting at a newly-introduced stricter regime.

The prison service confirmed the large-scale transfers in response to local press reports. Prisoners refused to return to their cells on Sunday evening in protest at a new national prison timetable, which temporarily prevents visits during weekends.

The prison governors saw the protest as unacceptable, and therefore decided to transfer a number of the protestors away from the Haarlem jail.