Justice. Redoine Faïd's detention conditions "contrary to human dignity," according to a judge

The conditions of detention of robber Rédoine Faïd, who has been in solitary confinement for 12 years, "are contrary to human dignity," according to the Béthune sentencing chamber, which on Monday requested that they be "put to an end" in an order.

“Deterioration of his health”

The sentencing judge considered that the conditions of detention of the fifty-year-old "are contrary to the dignity of the human person due to their combination, their duration and the lack of prospects given to the prisoner."

The judge asked "the prison administration to end these conditions of detention, by any means necessary," by July 28, the order states, confirming a report from France Info. The court had already ruled to this effect at the end of 2024 , a decision that was overturned on appeal.

The repeat offender, detained in the ultra-secure Vendin-le-Vieil prison (Pas-de-Calais), "argues that his conditions of detention are leading to a deterioration in his physical and mental health caused by sensory and social isolation," the judge noted.

"Real complications (...) may become irremediable," a doctor warned in May 2024, in a medical certificate cited in the order. These consequences are "worsening," according to two subsequent certificates.

Placed in solitary confinement for "at least 12 years," Rédoine Faïd has been required since 2018, during "all his visits," to speak through a hygiaphone, a device with a window that prevents physical contact between a prisoner and his visitors, the order states.

Since May, a new grille affixed to his window "reduces the brightness" of his cell, the magistrate also emphasizes. Finally, additional activities promised following the previous order "have, for the most part, not been implemented," she adds.

Vendin-le-Vieil prison is soon to house 100 of France's most dangerous drug traffickers.

End of sentence in 2057

Rédoine Faïd, 53, was sentenced in October 2023 to 14 years in prison by the Paris Assize Court for his spectacular escape by helicopter from Réau prison in July 2018. He was already serving sentences for robberies, one of which cost the life of a municipal police officer, and a previous escape in 2013.

"His sentence end date is currently set at August 17, 2057," the order states. The Béthune prosecutor's office has appealed, according to Benoit David, lawyer for Rédoine Faïd.