A cell of a few square meters, several inmates and a supervisor inside, and almost as many versions of the facts: the Criminal Court of Vienne (Isère) tried Wednesday March 3 to see clearly about a recent assault in a Isère prison.
And sentenced several men, including the prison guard, to prison.
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The victim, aged 21 and imprisoned at the Saint-Quentin-Fallavier prison, claims to have been beaten on January 23.
It implicates three auxiliary prisoners and a guard of the establishment, all prosecuted for violence in assembly.
At first, there was talk of an accident: the injured inmate would have felt unwell and broke his nose when he fell on his fridge.
This is the version that the supervisor first gives to his hierarchy.
The victim too, before confiding to a doctor that she was actually beaten.
The detainee maintains that after having insulted the supervisor for refusing to shower, he was attacked by the latter and the auxiliaries, who then had the cell cleaned by asking him not to "
throw them
".
In police custody, the guard admitted having opened the cell door outside the regulatory framework.
According to him, it was then a question of "
putting a blow of pressure
" to the detainee, whose agitated behavior disturbed everyone.
But the situation would have escalated, despite himself.
A hidden camera
One of the auxiliaries, the youngest, says he took part in the punitive expedition at the request of the supervisor who allegedly struck a blow - which the person concerned denies - while the other two, older and with a more extensive criminal record , deny en bloc.
One of them only admits to covering the hallway surveillance camera with a sheet, a common practice for calling a supervisor upstairs, he said.
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What happened during the five minutes of black screen?
"
We have no certainty,
" pleads a defense lawyer.
"
I did not have any semblance of an explanation for the charges,
" said another for whom only the supervisor, insulted by the victim, had an interest in acting.
Before the image disappears, we see him discussing with the auxiliaries.
When she returns, the guard is provided with a sounding bar - usually used to check the solidity of the bars - that he tries to hide according to the investigators, because it could have been used in the violence.
In fact, a broomstick found on the passageway that needed to be put away, the agent explains.
“
I didn't organize anything;
I never struck blows;
I tried to separate them,
”he repeats.
"
It is hard to believe you
," retorts the president.
"Welcome to the prison environment"
"
I want to say: welcome to prison, as this hearing has illustrated the difficulty of forming an opinion,
" said the prosecutor, calling for prison sentences.
"
The supervisor made some false statements at first, what credit can be given to him next?
He tries to convince us that he would have opened the door without imagining the rest
”but, in this case,“
he should have reacted differently by setting off the alarm
”, reproaches the magistrate.
For its part, the defense recalls that during a recorded conversation with his companion, the victim, whose record is also full, was especially concerned about the financial gains that she could derive from the case.
The guardian's lawyer emphasizes his youth - 24 years - and ensures that "
his only fault is to have opened the door
", seeking clemency from the court.
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This one followed the requisitions of the prosecutor by sentencing him to twelve months of imprisonment with prohibition to practice.
He inflicted sixteen months on the detainees who denied the facts and twelve months on the one who endorsed them.