"Your son is going to die." A man, incarcerated in the prison of Nimes (Gard) for ten days, was sequestered, tied up and violently beaten in his cell on the night of Thursday to Friday by two fellow prisoners, report several local media, including France Bleu Occitanie and Midi Libre. The attackers filmed the scene and sent the video to the victim's mother to blackmail her. They threatened to kill her son "if she did not pay 1500 euros and did not give away all her motorcycles".
In a statement, the union Ufap-Unsa justice Nîmes denounced "a real lynching". "This detainee was tied up and subjected to an outpouring of violence. He was severely beaten in the face multiple times, bathing in his blood," said the prison union representatives.
Both perpetrators are unfavourably known to police, justice and prison services. "Unfortunately, we know these detainees very well. They have been incarcerated here before. They feel in total impunity," lamented the deputy local secretary Ufap Nimes to France 3 Occitanie.
Repeat offenders
One has 18 appearances in disciplinary committees, including threats against prison officers and officers, possession of knives and six assaults on detainees. He "became unmanageable", he had just "finished his sentence in the isolation unit", explains Ufap-Unsa justice. It is releasable in 2026.
The second has accumulated 158 days of sanction in disciplinary quarters, according to the unions. He has already made death threats against the director and officers, promising to "screw everyone" with a knife. Released two years ago, his case is on appeal in cassation for a six-year sentence, according to information from France 3 Occitanie.
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After this violent attack, according to information from Midi Libre, one of the torturers was placed in solitary confinement in the disciplinary unit, the other changed cells.
"We hope that they will be severely punished and transferred elsewhere to serve their sentences, in a unit for violent detainees in view of their dangerousness," said local deputy secretary Ufap Nimes. All trade unions condemned the attack. They call for the alleged attackers to be brought to justice immediately, maximum disciplinary punishment and their transfer to another prison as soon as possible.
