Provence

The prisoner, who was due to return to Les Baumettes after a stay at the Édouard Toulouse hospital, gave the carers who were accompanying him to the prison officers’ van a slip. He was still on the run on Wednesday.

The Figaro Marseille

It took him only a few seconds to escape, right under the noses of the interns who were supposed to escort him back to his cell at the Baumettes prison. On Thursday, August 7, a prisoner suffering from mental health issues fled while leaving the Édouard Toulouse hospital center, located in the 15th arrondissement of Marseille.

As stated in Figaro from concordant sources, which confirm information revealed by Provence this young prisoner had just completed a stay in this hospital dedicated to mental health and was due to return to Les Baumettes under prison escort. “Three carers took him by car from the care unit pavilion to the hospital entrance, where the prison officer was supposed to pick him up. When he got out of the car, he ran away.”relates Kader Benayed, secretary general of SUD Santé, to the Figaro.

The prisoner, who may have gone straight to his accommodation nestled in a housing estate located a few hundred meters from the hospital, was still on the run on Wednesday. According to a source close to the case, the case may have even been “smothered” by the public authorities, embarrassed by this escape occurring during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and barely three months after the bloody escape of Mohamed Amra, which cost the lives of two prison guards.

Letter to the ARS and Benoît Payan

An escape that could probably have been avoided if this prisoner had been placed in the specially equipped hospital unit (UHSA) located in Marseille. Problem: it currently only accepts a maximum of 30 patients instead of the 60 normally planned for… the entire Paca region. “This prisoner should have been welcomed by the UHSA, which explains that it does not have enough places. Instead, he ended up with us. We are not a suitable structure”rages Kader Benayed, who sent a letter to the director general of the Regional Health Agency (ARS) as well as to the mayor of Marseille, Benoît Payan, in order to alert them about this worrying situation.

“For several months, we have observed a worrying increase in the number of patients admitted under the status of prisoners in our establishment. This situation goes far beyond the scope of our mission, which does not consist of caring for this type of patient, a responsibility that falls to the Specially Designed Hospital Unit (UHSA) of our region”writes the SUD Santé union in its letter, specifying that he was received by the mayor of the 15th arrondissement of Marseille, Nadia Boulainseur.

It often happens that prisoners who are hospitalized by force run away.

A prison union source

Contacted, the ARS Paca confirmed that an order had indeed been taken by the agency to return the prisoner once his treatment was completed and with the doctor’s agreement, qualifying the procedure “as usual”. “We were notified as soon as the escape took place and the police and the prosecutor were immediately alerted.”details the ARS.

A prison union source told the Figaro that the UHSA Paca suffered from a glaring lack of resources, adding that it was not uncommon to see prisoners taking advantage of their transfer to flee. “It often happens that inmates who are hospitalized by force run away. The psychiatric hospital is a closed and secure environment, but the inmates are supervised by medical staff, not police or prison officers.”blows this source.