Many inmates request release because of Covid-19

• Every day, around 50 inmates from Ile-de-France demand their release due to the coronavirus epidemic.
• To examine their requests, the Paris Court of Appeal was forced to open a second hearing.
• "20 Minutes" went there this Thursday morning? while the latest assessment shows 112 detainees confined because suspected of being affected by the virus.

At the Paris Court of Appeal,

Deceives boredom ... On the white sheet, the small aligned sticks form a geometric figure. At the entrance to the Paris Court of Appeal, at the security gates, there is so little activity that the three agents have undertaken to scrupulously count the few visitors. Bathed in a soft light, the corridors of the old courthouse which are then open to them are deserted. Only the directives to fight against the epidemic of coronavirus taped to the walls keep company with the portraits of the illustrious lawyers: Maurice Garçon. Vincent de Moro-Giafferri…

The deserted corridors of the Paris Court of Appeal in the midst of a coronavirus pandemic. - V. VANTIGHEM

But the picture is misleading. And their descendants are not far away. At the back of the building on the left, the instruction gallery is teeming with black dresses. This is where they come to demand the release of their detained clients. Since the start of the Covid-19 epidemic, the investigative chamber has never had so much work. The number of referrals has been multiplied by three. To examine around forty files each day from prisons in the Paris region, the Court of Appeal even decided to open a second courtroom.

Paris Court of Appeal! Thank you for the reception conditions of lawyers before the investigating chamber. No gel, no mask, no gloves for lawyers, thank you the Council of State which rejected the appeal supported by Syndicat des Avocats de France CE 04/20/2020 439983 pic.twitter.com/pMBysmuU15

"He has 0.7 m² of personal space in his jail ..."

This Thursday morning, the judges are women. There are three of them, in the Maurice Rolland room, to listen to the complaints. The rules of social distancing are reminded to each new entrant. And the bottles of hydroalcoholic gel are next to the piles of files in unstable equilibrium. That of Mr. C. is on top. Accused of raping a young woman, he has been awaiting trial since November 2017 from the Fleury-Merogis prison (Essonne).

“This is a special time for all of us, attacks Arnaud Guillaume, his lawyer. A time of anxiety ... My client is in a 9m² cell with two other prisoners. At three in 9m², how to respect the barrier gestures? He has 0.7m² of personal space in his jail! Mr. C. has already been refused by a liberty and detention judge (JLD). If his lawyer is there this Thursday, it is because he now hopes to convince the appeals court to get him out of the cell. But the Advocate General is sharp. She recalls that the man carries eight mentions to his criminal record including two for sexual assault, leaving little hope. The decision is taken under advisement.

"We talk a lot about the" next world ". Prison overcrowding is not inevitable. If we really wanted to and if we gave ourselves the means, we could get out of the culture of all confinement. I hope this health crisis will demonstrate this. »Https://t.co/70fLzVETSq

"All the diseases lying around where I am"

Disrupted by the crowds in the corridor and the risk of contamination, the bailiff rummages in his notes before announcing the second file. Mr. T, born in 1995, walks into the box, a mask placed on his thick beard. He already obtained his release from a JLD but the prosecution appealed. A blow of frost on the hands and one of the advisers recalls the history. "Drug trafficking. "," Go fast. " , “18,142 kilos of cannabis resin seized in the Rhône valley”… For the lawyer general, there is a risk of “renewal of the facts” if he gets out of prison before his trial. Gray sweatshirt on the back, the accused pleads his case himself in a tired voice, without really managing to finish his sentences: "My detention is particularly difficult ... Especially at the moment with what is happening ... All illnesses lying around where I am ... All that ... "

The president listens to a verse that she knows by heart. We have been reciting it to him every day for a month. At first, the magistrate and her colleagues had nothing. No gel, no mask. "And the water had been cut off due to a leak!" Even exclaims a counselor. Today they have everything they need. Including magnificent masks and charlottes giving them an oscillating look between the canteen and the beekeeper. And they also decide not to wear ...

"Bleach as a hydroalcoholic gel"

Gabriel Duménil therefore plays the card of breaking defense. "Do I have the impression that you are being served the excuse of the epidemic all the time?" Begins the lawyer. " Oh yes ! Save us ... ”begs the president. "Yes, but it's a serious subject ..." he sways intelligently. Sent back to the assizes for 35 rapes and sexual assaults that he denies, his client is not afraid of the Covid-19. But he would like to be able to prepare for his trial, scheduled for September, normally. "The file was not sent to him. And I no longer have the right to go see him, pleads his advice. How do you want to do it ? The last time I saw it was March 17. We gave him bleach as a hydroalcoholic gel! The decision is put under advisement.

"Good come on, here we go ...", continues the magistrate who pushes the lawyer outside so as not to end like some evenings after 11 pm, due to the crowds. It's not win. Dated April 21, the latest report provided to 20 Minutes by the prison administration reports 112 inmates confined in cells as suspected of being affected by the coronavirus and 312 prison officers placed in the fortnight. To prevent the virus from spreading, Nicole Belloubet, the Minister of Justice, signed orders which have made it possible to reduce the penal population by 10,000 prisoners in one month. But there are still far too many of them to benefit from an individual cell, as the law has provided for since… 1875. No risk of partial unemployment for the magistrates of the chamber of instruction.

#coronavirus: On 17/03, Nicole #Belloubet said in @ 20Minutes that he was not at all "in the perspective" of releasing detainees because of the Covid-19. Tomorrow, she will present orders allowing the release of approximately 5,000 of them ... https: //t.co/sgSbc2tq56

Society

Coronavirus: "The risk of mutiny hangs over prisons" warns the Controller General of places of deprivation of liberty Adeline Hazan

Justice

Coronavirus: Prison warden dies from Covid-19, prisons tighten a little

• Coronavirus
• Containment
• Covid 19
• Justice
• Video
• Jail
• Paris
• Court of Appeal