A “very rare” decision according to the President of the Bar, Richard Doudet. The Limoges administrative court condemns in part, and under penalty, the Ministry of Justice, concerning this prison. The Limoges administrative court ruled this Monday, December 16, 2024, concerning the conditions of detention at the remand center. If everything has not been granted, several injunctions have been made, under penalty, notably concerning sanitary facilities.
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The Limoges remand center, its prison overcrowding (+166% occupancy at the start of November 2024 according to the ministry) and its conditions of detention… Like a sea serpent, the news of which was relaunched in November 2024, at the The occasion of a surprise visit from President Richard Doudet, a visit which led to a damning report.
In the process, the Limoges Bar Association and the French section of the International Prison Observatory filed a joint summary liberty order before the administrative court, denouncing nearly forty points in their brief.
After a hearing on December 11, 2024, where all parties were heard, the administrative court rendered its decision this Monday, December 16, 2024.
If he did not accede to all of the requests, in particular a temporary closure with transfer of inmates, to deal with a bedbug problem, he nevertheless ordered “to the Keeper of the SealsMinister of Justice, to immediately issue additional coverage to detainees who request it, when broken windows have not been immediately repaired, to proceed with the regular and free distribution of emergency kits hygiene and maintenance kits within four days of notification of this order and, to provide sufficient protection of the privacy of detainees by setting up isolation in front of the sanitary space within the cells within three weeks from notification of this order.”
Injunctions issued under a penalty of one thousand euros per day of delay, from the notification of its order, i.e. this December 16.
In addition, the State must pay, to the Limoges Bar Association, and to the French section of the International Prison Observatory, the sum of one thousand eight hundred euros, under the provisions of article L 761-1 of the Administrative Justice Code.
“It’s an excellent decision, particularly regarding the detainees’ sanitary facilities. Furthermore, with a penalty, and what a penalty, €1000 per day late, it’s very rare”reacted Me Richard Doudet.
Me Guillaume Laverdure, a member of the bar, who accompanied the president of the bar during his visit, and who represents the International Prison Observatory in Limoges, was a little more measured: “Indeed, this type of penalty measure, with such a high amount, is extremely rare, and it feels like a victory. If there are injunctions, it is because the administrative court considers that there is an emergency and unworthy conditions at the remand center, and that they must therefore be remedied. But this is only the beginning of a fight. I am more disappointed on the issue of broken windows and especially, bed bugs. I find the motivations lacking. I have to ask the OIP to see what we are going to do, because we have a period of fifteen days to appeal the decision to the Council of State.”
Me Doudet wanted to be more temperate. “There will be a before and after our visit. Concerning the bedbugs, the court considers that the plan presented by the director of the establishment during the hearing on December 11 was going in the right direction, it describes it as extensive. Things are finally happening at the remand center. Just this morning, I saw, my office is right next door, more than a hundred chairs taken out of a truck to be brought inside.
But the same is not true for Fatima Benyoussa, delegate of the CGT prison union at the remand center. Informed of the decision when she left the service, her first reaction was intended to be ironic: “Apparently, everything is going very well! [rires] More seriously, it’s a very good thing, such a penalty, as I recall, is unheard of. But it’s not enough, it doesn’t solve the problem of windows and bedbugs. It’s still not resolved, I haven’t seen any business come through yet, and management isn’t giving us any information.”
Concerning these bedbugs, the major plan mentioned by management provides for the disinfestation operation to be launched at the beginning of January 2025, according to the administration. The women’s quarter, not infested, will be evacuated, in order to accommodate a wing of the men’s quarter which will, on this occasion, be treated. The operation will be repeated in this way until the men’s quarters are completely disinfestation. The women’s section will subsequently be fully treated, as a preventive measure, before the reintegration of the female prisoners. This operation is expected to last until mid-May 2025.
Contacted, the Ministry of Justice has not yet responded to our requests.
