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Update
An escape attempt took place during the night of Saturday 13 to Sunday 14 November at Fresnes prison. A closely watched detainee, suspected of being a terrorist, managed to dig a hole in the wall of her cell, before being arrested.
How could a radicalized prisoner outsmart the security of Fresnes prison (Val-de-Marne), the second largest prison in France? It all started on Sunday, November 14, around 4 a.m. A young woman managed to pierce the wall of her cell using a simple spoon and a small iron bar. Then, with two sheets, she made a handcrafted rope and rappelled down to the sports field.
She then arrived at the guardians’ walkway, and had only one manhole cover to unseal to escape. Captured by motion detectors, however, she was arrested. For the unions of supervisors, it is first of all the extreme dilapidation of the center that is in question. “Today, you have buildings that are subject to water infiltration, and which indeed, in the long term, may also perhaps weaken the structure of the cells, and which make it easier for inmates to be able to dig holes. holes and go through the facade“, details Wilfried Fonck, UFAP-UNSA Justice national secretary.
The case is taken all the more seriously as the detainee is imprisoned for acts of terrorism. The 31-year-old was indicted in 2017 for joining the Islamic State group in Syria. She is therefore under reinforced surveillance, with a round in front of her cell every two hours. The anti-terrorism prosecution took up the case to find out whether this detainee benefited from the help of accomplices.