Supervisors in Le Havre call for “better care for radicalized detainees”

A prison in the prison. In summary, this is what the Ufap Unsa Justice union is asking for. One year after the attack on two guards at the Le Havre penitentiary center located in Saint-Aubin-de-Routot (Seine-Maritime), the union regrets “the immobility of the administration on the management in prison of prisoners imprisoned for acts of terrorism or in connection with. “The union is well aware that in the establishment adjoining the Océane city a district dedicated to these prisoners would be complicated to set up, the fact remains that according to its representative,” it is the only way to avoid violent attacks and phenomena of imitation ”. In Paris, the prison administration responds and highlights the measures taken to improve security in prison in the face of terrorist prisoners.

Thirty inmates out of the 630 today

Billy Dorilas, representative of the Ufap Unsa Justice union at the Le Havre prison, hoped that “the tragedy experienced by two of our colleagues on June 20, 2019 would be followed by concrete measures to ensure our safety and that of other detainees.” ! »

The facts had occurred at the time of the morning call, at 7 a.m. While one of the supervisors, accompanied by a colleague, opened the door of the detainee’s cell, the latter sentenced in 2017 for participation and association of criminals with a view to committing a terrorist act had attacked them with iron bars .

What they suffered that morning will mark them forever … We immediately asked our administration for resources, says Billy Dorilas.

But a year later, he made the bitter observation: “No response, no decision, it is total immobilization. ”

In Le Havre, according to this union, “around thirty of the 630 detainees are now imprisoned for links with terrorist activities”.

Read also: Coronavirus. Detainees “scared of death” and worried families at Le Havre prison

“We are going to watch, but … at the exit of the prisons!”

For the trade unionist, “today these prisoners are taken care of in the same way as the others. However, we observe phenomena of imitations. Radicalized inmates train others, and it becomes dangerous. And when the detainees do not want to follow, then they are the ones who are in danger ”. The only solution, “repeatedly proposed by several unions: put prisoners serving a sentence for terrorist or associated acts in specialized structures”. Billy Dorilas does not rule out the hypothesis of a special district within penal establishments “, even if it agrees:” In Le Havre it would not be simple, but it is possible elsewhere. ”

These are specific profiles, it requires appropriate support. Otherwise we will continue to exchange between prisons these prisoners according to the attacks in the prisons, and this is obviously not a solution.

On the night of Monday, June 22 to Tuesday, June 23, 2020, the National Assembly passed a bill providing for “security measures against the perpetrators of terrorist offenses” after the end of their sentence. A measure taken while by 2022, 75% of those convicted of terrorism will have served their sentence: “The figure of 150 released detainees was announced a few months ago”. For Billy Dorilas, “it’s normal: they are not ex-prisoners like the others, that’s why in detention we should consider them as such”.

For the prison administration: “The level of security has been raised”

“It is wrong to say that nothing has been done, the level of security has been raised in the face of radicalized detainees,” said the management of the prison administration in Paris. We take this threat very seriously, especially since serious events such as Condé-sur-Sarthe (Orne) or Le Havre. “

Today, 500 people are in prison in France for acts of terrorism or convictions related to acts of terrorism. The direction of the prison administration specifies:

To date, each detainee convicted of terrorist acts has undergone a specific assessment.

From isolation to conventional detention

Depending on the dangerousness, an answer is given. “For the most dangerous, it will be isolation. They cannot be placed in cells with other detainees nor can they have group activities. ”

For detainees considered dangerous, but accessible to care, radicalization care areas have been set up. There are six in France. Every six months, these detainees are reassessed and can stay in these specialized areas, integrate isolation or traditional detention.

For all these categories, monitoring “has also been reinforced”, provides management, which thereby evokes prison information in place since 2016. According to her, “prison officers are also better trained to be alerted to certain signals that may be radicalization. ”

Regarding the request from the Ufap Unsa union, the answer is unequivocal: “Other countries have done it and have found that it does not work. In addition, in a penitentiary center, you integrate preparation for discharge. How can you do this when you bring together prisoners convicted of or linked to terrorist acts in a single location? “

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