Justice had been seized in early July by lawyers from the Order of Toulouse and by the Observatory of prisons, who denounced unworthy living conditions for prisoners in Seysse, near Toulouse.
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In July, the International Observatory of Prisons (OIP) and the Toulouse Bar Association took legal action to denounce the conditions of imprisonment of prisoners in Seysses prison (Haute-Garonne). Cockroaches, rats, mold on the walls, overcrowded cells: for the second time in two years, the Ministry of Justice was summoned to explain.
The Toulouse administrative court therefore ordered the prison administration to improve the situation, by acting urgently on three specific points: the state of the toilets in part of the building, the management of medical emergencies, and finally the presence of pests – notably cockroaches – in the prison. Indeed, during a visit, the controller of the prisons had noticed that some prisoners slept with toilet paper in their ears to prevent insects from entering them.
On the rest, on the issue of overcrowding in particular, the administrative judge considered that the situation had improved since a first warning last October. A half-hearted decision, regrets Maître Mathilde Bachelet, one of the lawyers of the OIP, the International Observatory of Prisons: “There is a chance that the OIP would like to appeal the decision because, although major shortcomings have been noted, the measures taken do not seem to us to be up to par.”
“Basically, we see that there are still unworthy conditions in the penitentiary center, but that despite everything, because of the efforts made by the administration, that is enough.”
Master Mathilde Bacheletat franceinfo
The lawyer particularly regrets that the judge does not ask the prison administration for accounts on the progress of the work. It will therefore be necessary, concludes Maîtree Bachelet, to take legal action again if this is not done in time.