Toulouse lawyers and the International Observatory of Prisons (OIP) on Tuesday July 26 asked the administrative justice to fine the State to force it to improve the conditions of detention in the prison of Toulouse-Seysses.
The administrative court of Toulouse, which will make its decision at the end of the week at the earliest, had already ordered the government on October 4 to improve “
urgently
” the conditions of detention in this remand center.
On Tuesday, the OIP and the Toulouse Bar Association estimated, during a hearing before this court, that the October decision had been applied in a "
partial
" and "
unsatisfactory
" manner, explained to AFP one of their lawyers, Justine Rucel.
" Unworthy
"
conditions of detention
Among other "
urgent measures
", the judge in chambers of the court had ordered the improvement "
of the conditions of the outdoor activities of the detainees, often three per cell
" and better maintenance, cleaning and deratting of the spaces where these activities take place, “
encumbered by rubbish and/or devoid of any equipment
”.
He had also ordered to look for ways to "
reduce prison overcrowding
" and to "
proceed to the physical separation of the toilets from the rest of the cell
".
According to Me Rucel, the installation of curtains to ensure this separation is still not finished, nine months after the court's decision.
On the other hand, the means put in place to remove the rubbish are insufficient, she further specified.
In July 2021, after a visit to Seysses, prison controller Dominique Simonnot described
the conditions of detention in this remand center with some 600 places for more than 1,000 prisoners as "
unworthy ".
Regarding cockroaches, she noted that some inmates “
put toilet paper in their ears to prevent these insects from entering them while they sleep
.”
Read alsoThe State condemned for unworthy conditions of detention in Évreux
For Me Rucel, extermination operations are not enough.
It would be necessary to “
change the pest control protocol
” (cockroaches, rats).
In order to obtain the application of the decision of last October, the OIP and the Toulouse lawyers are asking the court to impose on the State a "
penalty, the amount of which will be commensurate with the extent of the serious harm
observed in Seysses and
the "non-execution, despite the urgency, of the injunctions issued
" by the administrative courts.
