A 51-year-old detainee was found dead Sunday at the Strasbourg remand center after hanging himself, AFP learned Monday from union sources, the second suicide in two weeks in this establishment.
The detainee was alone in his cell and was found on Sunday morning during a routine check carried out by prison officers, two union sources told AFP, confirming information from Latest News from Alsace (DNA ).
The man had initially been imprisoned in Colmar in the summer of 2020, then transferred to Strasbourg in September 2020. He was known to the judicial services for acts of theft, violence and insult, and rape.
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In accordance with the Code of Criminal Procedure, the Strasbourg prosecutor's office opened an investigation into the causes of death.
This suicide is the second in less than two weeks at the Strasbourg remand center: on November 9, a 31-year-old detainee was hanged in the disciplinary district, recall the DNA.
According to the International Prison Observatory (OIP), the Strasbourg remand center, with a capacity of 424 places, accommodated 543 prisoners on January 1, 2021, i.e. an occupancy rate of 128%.
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The unions solicited by AFP nevertheless evoke “
correct
”
detention conditions
.
"
It is an establishment which is not that old, and which is well maintained, well kept, even if it suffers from prison overcrowding
", underlined a union representative.
However, he regretted the absence of "
automatic psychological care
" for prison officers faced with suicides.
When asked, the prison administration did not immediately respond to AFP's requests.
