"We shouldn't talk about suicide in prison, we should say that prison
kills" Ahfed Benotman ---- The number of prisoners in France explodedagain, reaching a new record in January: 80,800 people imprisoned, not
counting the 200,000 people under the jurisdiction of the courts, and
therefore under state control. Prison is one of the rapidly expanding
state institutions designed to manage poverty. France, once a leading
figure in human rights, is collapsing just before Cyprus and Romania
regarding its prison overcrowding - according to a study published in
June 2024 by the Council of Europe. The conditions of detention are
appalling, and the lack of prospects is compounded by prison violence.
Prisoners are mere numbers that the administration manages with contempt
and violence.
In these modern, high-walled dungeons, 125 prisoners die each year by
suicide or suspicious deaths. These figures are largely underestimated.
The risk of suicide is ten times higher than in the general population
for men, and forty times higher for women. It is during the first weeks
of incarceration that prisoners die the most. Prison is deadly, and it
is in solitary confinement that it can most surely destroy. The prison
administration is responsible for the safety and integrity of the
prisoners it confines. When a man or woman dies within these walls, it
is because of failure, negligence, or violence, whether at the hands of
fellow inmates placed there by the PA, by guards, or out of despair to
the point of death.
Outside, the year 2024 was particularly deadly in terms of police
violence, with 55 deaths recorded last year in France by the
"Désarmons-Les" collective-the highest number in over half a century.
The mobilization of collectives and families has succeeded in embodying
the few lines that can be found in the press and in portraying the true
face of the state. The weight of life is seriously beginning to weigh
very little and is thus annihilating our collective humanity. So if we
add the compartmentalization of high walls and the disinterest in prison
matters, the fight for the truth is even harder to break in prison,
where both the police and the guards enjoy unbearable impunity.
Some cases of suspicious deaths in prison: Jules died in the solitary
confinement cell of the Seysses remand center on the night of December
5-6, 2020. He was 20 years old. The prison administration claims he
hanged himself, but the prisoners are adamant: Jules did not commit
suicide. Many of them testify, and it is always the same team of guards
in place. In September 2020, Idir died in a highly suspicious manner in
the solitary confinement cell (punishment cell) of the Lyon Corbas
remand center. His mother is fighting to uncover the truth and
denouncing the punishment cells. On August 9, 2022, Romain Leroy, a
long-term prisoner, died. He died of a ruptured aorta. He was 38 years
old. Sambaly died in 2022 of asphyxiation after a 35-minute agony, his
feet shackled, his hands cuffed behind his back, gagged with a towel,
crushed under the weight of four or five guards. On October 9, 2024,
Robin Cotta, 22, died in cell 504 of the arrivals section of the
Baumettes remand center, beaten, knocked unconscious, and then coldly
slit by a fellow inmate with shards of a porcelain bowl, after
repeatedly requesting to be moved to another cell.
The "lifeless body" of an inmate was found on January 13, 2025, in the
La Talaudière remand center (Loire). The prosecutor called it suicide.
He was sentenced to 18 months in prison for "refusal to comply with
orders resulting in endangerment, driving without a license, receiving
stolen vehicles, and assault against persons in authority."
Assane Gueye, 51, died on August 17, 2025, in Meaux prison, where he was
being held following an error by the prosecutor's office. The courts and
his family are questioning the intervention of prison officers just
before his death.
Alassane Sangaré died on November 24, 2022, at the age of 36, under
suspicious circumstances in Fleury-Mérogis. His death, which occurred
five days after his incarceration, is officially attributed to suicide,
but his family-his mother and sisters-reject this version and are waging
a fierce battle to uncover the truth. They denounce the invisibility of
prison violence.
This case is symptomatic of how the police, justice system, and prison
operate: Alassane lives with his wife and three children, and works at
Bouygues. Cohabitation with his neighbor is not going well, with
complaints, harassment, imaginary acts, and summonses to the police
station. Alassane requests a conciliation agreement, which remains
unheeded. Following an altercation in which Alassane was not involved,
the police came to arrest him.
He was brought before a court and, unexpectedly, given the nature of the
case, he was imprisoned without the possibility of parole. This
expeditious justice system became the norm; less costly and efficient,
it incarcerated more people, based solely on police allegations, leaving
little time to prepare a defense. A ersatz form of justice that was good
for the poor.
He died five days later in the arrivals section. The family was notified
a day and a half later by the police. This was enough time to construct
and organize a plausible scenario. The family, for their part, was
paralyzed by the violence of the news; the prison environment was
foreign to them. Djenaba, his sister, had Assa Traouré as a neighbor,
who immediately conveyed the correct actions: to go to the scene as
quickly as possible and ask to see the director for precise information
on the circumstances of his death. No one was there, but the staff were
talking about suicide. It was a shock. Why would he have committed this
ultimate act? How could he accept it, talk to his children about it?
The family sought to learn more, not just relying on the prison version.
They immediately went to the prison to speak with the families who were
visiting their loved ones and tried to gather testimonies. They asked
for information on social media; prisoners with phones could transmit
and respond. There was a genuine, heartwarming outpouring of solidarity
that paid off; hundreds of testimonies of solidarity and information on
the conditions of detention in general, and particularly where Alassane
was incarcerated. The family quickly understood that there had been an
altercation between guards and Alassane. They fought to see the body and
courageously photographed the bruises and injuries that confirmed the
fatal blows and could be used as evidence during a possible trial. (The
repatriation of the body or a quick burial had to be refused so that a
counter-autopsy could possibly be performed.) It's also necessary to
hire a combative lawyer who understands the ins and outs of the
investigation process and who will be able to avoid the many pitfalls
that can lead to a halt in this type of case, bring it to trial, and
bring justice to the prison administration and the guards involved. The
family knows that the fight will be long, that they will need to
surround themselves with others, not remain alone, and stay in touch
with other families to learn from their experiences, but also to gain a
deeper understanding of this institution, prison, which destroyed the
lives of Alassane and so many others, and that there will never be
enough of us to do so.
Solidarity, Courage, and Determination
Nadia M
Stay informed: For Alassane Sangare on Facebook and Instagram
Listen to actalitedesluttes.info on January 24, 2025, and February 6, 2025
http://oclibertaire.lautre.net/spip.php?article4395
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