The Saint-Jacques-de-la-Lande detention center, near Rennes (illustration). - F. Perry / AFP

Eight people held at the administrative detention center (CRA) of Rennes have started a hunger strike to denounce a "lack of respect and hygiene" as well as "the lack of prospects of removal", we have learned Wednesday from the Cimade.

“At the Rennes detention center, we have no rights. They are hitting on us. The police wake us up every morning without a hello. They slam the doors and turn on the light. They sometimes return to our rooms, at night, for nothing ”, tell in a letter these detainees, subject to a removal procedure.

"We are insulted and pushed to the limit"

Of the twelve people selected, eight started a hunger strike on Monday, according to the Cimade which accompanies them. The strikers denounce degraded hygienic conditions, with the presence of "cockroaches and rats", but also insufficient access to water during a heat wave.

“What shocks us the most is that we are not respected. That we are insulted and pushed to the limit. It is also the abandonment that we feel. A person attempted suicide a few days ago and has not seen a doctor, ”they say.

One of them, who wishes to remain anonymous, also referred to "racist remarks on the part of certain police officers". “We are told things like 'Bougnoule, if you're not happy all you have to do is stay at home' or 'You are dogs'”.

He also deplores the lack of prospect of removal, many countries having closed their borders due to the Covid-19 crisis. "There are no thefts, we are kept for nothing when we could be under house arrest," he denounces.

Originally from the Maghreb, Sudan or Eastern Europe

According to the prefecture of Ille-et-Vilaine, "seven people refuse meal trays but continue to eat through distributors". "We are not very worried about their state of health," she adds. "We only have coffee," replies the detainee.

According to Cimade, these people are from the Maghreb, Cameroon, Sudan or even Albania and Georgia. Some have served a prison sentence. "The oldest has been there since June 30, but this confinement without any prospect of removal makes no sense and is illegal," Alice Lukacs, member of the Cimade, told AFP.

In December 2019, a person held in Rennes died after attempting suicide. In January, a police officer killed himself on the premises of the CRA.

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