“This prison buries you”: what happens in cell 130 of the Tarbes remand center at the heart of a chilling report

La maison d’arrêt de Tarbes fait l’objet d’un rapport accablant. Capture Google street view

La prison de Tarbes fait l’objet d’une alerte émise ce jeudi 13 juin par le contrôleur général des lieux de privation de liberté. Dans cette petite maison d’arrêt, une cellule tout particulièrement, sert de lieu propice au déferlement de la violence.

A report, published in the Official Journal this Thursday, June 13, points to serious dysfunctions within the Tarbes remand center. Already visited in March by the general controller of places of deprivation of liberty, who issued this report, the Hautes-Pyrénées prison has a number of problems.

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Prison overcrowding and all that results from it: unsanitary conditions, deteriorated detention conditions, lack of food and violence.

"Beating the inmates"

It is on this last point that the report particularly warns. Quoted by Le Parisien, the report denounces a "operation marked by arbitrariness and violence". One of the inmates even goes so far as to confide to our colleagues, "this prison, morally and psychologically, it buries you&quot ;.

In addition to the violence committed by identified supervisors, the non-exhaustive list of which mentions blows, slaps, simulated strangulations, threats, mockery, humiliation and retaliatory measures, the’ one of the elements highlighted by the report is particularly chilling.

It is stated that within the prison grounds, on the first floor, one cell in particular suffers from a terrible reputation. This is cell 130, normally dedicated to excavations, indicates France Bleu. "There, these are organized violence in a dedicated cell, cell 130 which is supposedly used for searches but which in fact was used to beat up the inmates. I weigh my words, I did not imagine that it was still possible", indicates Dominique Simonnot the general controller of places of deprivation of freedom.

Measures announced and an investigation underway

According to our colleagues, all this started with a guard, who settled a personal matter with an inmate in this cell.

During the prison visit, this cell had been closed with a padlock. By demanding the video surveillance images, the controllers were able to notice that violence had taken place in this cell no later than two days before their visit.

France Bleu indicates that a judicial investigation was underway. Concerning the recommendations to which the Minister of Justice Eric Dupond-Moretti responded by announcing renovation work and the recruitment of staff linked to collective catering at the start of the school year. Disappointing responses for the General Controller, who now says she expects a lot from the judicial investigation.