A prison guard at the Seysses prison, near Toulouse (Haute-Garonne), was sentenced to two years in prison on Thursday by a criminal court for violence against five inmates, but he will be able to continue working.
At the hearing on November 4, detainees reported humiliation, beatings and insults. In his defense, the prison guard spoke of difficult working conditions, acknowledged inappropriate comments but denied any violence. Prosecutors had asked for a suspended sentence of three years in prison and a ban on working as a prison guard.
“This sentence is commensurate with the seriousness of the violence committed,” said the detainees’ lawyer gleefully
“For my clients, this sentence is commensurate with the seriousness of the violence perpetrated against detainees, which often goes unpunished,” answered Sarah Nabet Claverie, attorney for two of the five victims. Prison, he added, “should simply be a deprivation of the freedom to come and go, certainly not a blank check for all mistreatment.”
For defense lawyer Kamel Benamghar, “between the law and the truth, the court is able to appreciate the tensions that exist in detention in pre-prison detention centers such as Toulouse-Seysses that are secretly structurally dysfunctional.” He welcomed any consideration that would allow his client to continue his career.
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Toulouse-Seysses prison has been repeatedly singled out for “inhumane” detention conditions and “serious dysfunction”, according to the International Prison Observatory (OIP).
