Police early yesterday quelled a protest by prisoners at a jail near Ioannina, northwestern Greece, that had started on Saturday night.

Officers were called to the facility at Stavraki after five inmates occupied an inner guard post and set fire to blankets, protesting overcrowding and demanding their relocation to another prison.

Of the five inmates, all serving long sentences, two were granted permission to receive counseling at an Ioannina hospital, authorities said. The other three were returned to their cells a few hours later. According to state news channel ERT, police used tear gas to restore calm. It was unclear whether other prisoners had joined the protest.

Like most Greek prisons, the Stavraki facility is overcrowded. Built to house 80 prisoners, it currently accommodates 235.