Upon their return, rebel prisoners who refused to work were put in cells and left in isolation up to 30 days. In official records, we discover that only in the first half of 1980, 118 convicts had been put to the cell.

Anyone who didn’t meet his target was forced back to the tunnel with the other shift and held there until the end of that shift with no food or rest at any given moment until they met their daily target. Police officers inflicted extraordinary violence to those prisoners who refused to enter the tunnel.

Spies were prisoners that infiltrated rooms through prison command, seeking to extract information on the activity of certain prisoners. They collected information and reported it to prison operatives. These briefings were often made to re-convict prisoners that were nearing their release. The infiltrated were often placed at the same sleeping room with the prisoner they surveilled.

In area no. 2 of Spaç, pyrite extraction was performed, whereas in area no. 1 and no. 3, there was copper extraction.  In all areas, each group’s (made of one miner and two carters) daily target was the extraction of seven wagons of mineral, cleaning the front from inert material, reinforcing the whole area where they had worked, whereas the opening of holes was then done by a free miner, i.e., not imprisoned, as the process included the use of explosive devices which were never entrusted on a prisoner for security reasons.  This free miner would fill the holes with explosives to be detonated for the following shift. The first shift ended after all this work processes had been closed by the three-prisoner group.

The smith’s was a small 3x3m structure. The smith prepared the work tools prisoners used, such as pickaxes, axes, etc. Many prisoners respectfully recall the work of QazimVula, a great smith and great ally to them, as his very work helped them in the difficult work processes at the tunnel.