Five police officers have been suspended following the death of a prisoner in Alphen aan de Rijn, the Telegraaf reports on Friday.

The man was overmastered in his cell in June by a special unit used during riots and in searches of dangerous prisoners. Witnesses say the neck hold was used, the paper says.

Originally, the death was announced as natural causes, but this was rectified by the public prosecution office in The Hague, which said the cause of death was unknown.

The public prosecutor is currently investigating the case. The five police officers have been suspended from special unit work but are still carrying out other duties.

Confused

On Thursday evening, tv programme Een Vandaag said another man died as a result of a neck hold. In 2013, the man was in a confused state and causing a nuisance. Police were called.

According to his lawyer, he died from a lack of oxygen.

On Thursday, justice minister Ard van der Steur asked the Inspectorate of Security and Justice to look into the use of the neck hold by police.

Holidaymaker

The investigation comes after the death of Aruban holidaymaker Mitch Henriquez in police custody, but the inspectorate will look at the use of the neck hold in a wider context, news agency ANP reported.

Henriquez died following a heavy-handed arrest after attending a pop concert in The Hague last month. He was wrestled to the ground and bundled into a police van, apparently unconscious.

The neck hold is a method the police sometimes use to subdue a suspect. It has been banned in a number of US states but Dutch police are allowed to use it.