The Council of State overturned a decision of the Toulouse administrative court ordering the Seysses remand center, near Toulouse, to provide masks to detainees and offer them screening for Covid-19, AFP has learned Friday, October 9.
Read also: Does the mask reduce the severity of Covid-19 cases?
At the end of August, four Toulouse lawyers seized the administrative court after finding that during video-conferences, their detained clients seated less than a meter from them were not wearing a mask.
In its order of September 4, which the Minister of Justice appealed, the Toulouse court maintained that "
the absence of generalized screening coupled with the non-availability of masks
" characterized "
a clear and illegal attack on fundamental freedoms
".
But for the Ministry of Justice, “
the use of a massive screening campaign constitutes a disproportionate obligation given the number of people detained diagnosed positive for Covid-19
”.
According to him, only two cases of contamination have been diagnosed in the establishment since the start of the epidemic.
Systematic screening
"
The general screening of all inmates and staff in a penitentiary establishment is considered relevant only if at least three people are found to be contaminated, which is not the case at present
", Underlines the Council of State, putting forward the concept of"
health ring
"in the prisons.
However, he adds, new detainees are systematically screened two days after their arrival, then on the ninth day of their detention, and are placed in solitary confinement in a specific area.
Read also: Covid-19: who was most affected during confinement?
As regards the wearing of the mask in confined spaces, such as waiting areas, work and activity stations or videoconference rooms, without contact with the outside, it “
does not present any problem. 'useful, since the prison staff wear such a mask and that the activities take place with a limited number of detainees in order to ensure physical distancing
”, we can read.
The "
health emergency
" in prisons, especially in remand centers reaching 200% occupancy rate, had pushed the authorities to proceed to early releases of detainees - 6615, according to the Chancellery - to two months maximum of their sentence and if they were not incarcerated for crimes or domestic violence.
According to the latest figures from the prison administration, dating from Monday, 482 inmates have tested positive for Covid-19 since the start of the epidemic, including 47 currently contaminated in 188 French prisons.
Only one detainee, a 74-year-old man who was imprisoned in Fresnes (Val-de-Marne), died in mid-March.
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