In France, the prison controller is sounding the alarm after a new visit to 4 administrative detention centers (CRA), out of the 25 in the territory. It is in these closed places where people in an irregular situation are placed while awaiting their expulsion.
The maximum duration of detention is 90 days, except in the case of conviction for an act of terrorism, where it can be extended. Dominique Simmonot deplores the unworthy living conditions there. Its recommendations to the government were published this Thursday in the Official Journal.
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The buildings are dirty and dilapidated. In Mesnil-Amelot, Sète and Metz, the premises are described as degraded, poorly equipped. The cold reigns there in winter, the hot water is insufficient. The detainees lack privacy in their rooms or in the sanitary facilities. For her, the atmosphere in these detention centers is oppressive and scary. In Lyon, the architecture of the very recent center N°2, presented as a model, is called into question, in particular its lack of opening to the outside and natural lighting.
Increase in violence
In all, the lack of activity is the rule, summarizes the controller. Either nothing has been planned, or the equipment is unusable. The detainees are on their own. Result, over the years, the violence increases, and with it, the number of dismissals. Sanctions, too often arbitrary, in even more unsanitary premises.
Dominique Simmonot also denounces the difficulty of access to care, the too small portions of food and to complete this blackboard, the presence of children. For the controller, their confinement must be prohibited.
Remarks that she had already made during previous visits, without effect. For the detention of minors, France has also already been condemned twice by the European Court of Human Rights.
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