Khaled Miloudi, former robber, recounts his life after prison

“I was dissociated, and in the courtyard, I met old people who took me under their wing. And from there, I set foot in organized crime.” On leaving his first 18-month prison sentence for a fight, Khaled Miloudi finds his colleagues he met behind bars. At their side, he participates in robberies. “I was well dressed, I had nice cars, I had money, and so everywhere I went was red carpet.“But this lifestyle did not last, and sent him back to detention.

“I got arrested after the robbery of a jewelry store in Rouen, after a shootout with an exchange of gunfire with the police.“Khaled Miloudi was then sentenced to 30 years in prison, but did not think he would get out of it. “Suicide, for me, was like a form of liberation”, he admits. “And there, I threw myself on the notepad and I started to write.”

For him, writing made it possible to “save”. “I didn’t commit suicide precisely because I was able to extract what I had to extract right away, all these bruises under the skin, all these pangs, all these absences.“Khaled Miloudi was able to find a job during his sentence. And when he got out, the former prisoner had only one thing in mind”make friends”. “Everyone who heard about my background was surprised. I had the feeling at that time that in the end people were much more open than I thought.”