What Awaits the Former President in La Santé Prison and What Belongings Did He Bring?
Maybe the nation's most notorious correctional facility, the La Santé prison – in which ex-president of France Nicolas Sarkozy has begun a five year incarceration for criminal conspiracy to solicit political donations from the Libyan government – remains the only remaining prison inside the French capital's boundaries.
Situated in the south part of Montparnasse area of the capital, it was inaugurated in 1867 and was the site of at least 40 death penalties, the final one in 1972. Partially shut down for upgrades in 2014, the prison reopened five years later and holds in excess of 1,100 prisoners.
Famous past detainees include poet Guillaume Apollinaire, the unauthorized trader Jérôme Kerviel, the public servant and Nazi collaborator Maurice Papon, the businessman and politician Bernard Tapie, the 70s terrorist Carlos the Jackal, and talent scout Jean-Luc Brunel.
VIP Quarters for High-Profile Inmates
Prominent or at-risk inmates are generally placed in the jail’s QB4 section for “protected persons” – the dubbed “premium block” – in single cells, rather than the standard three-person units, and isolated during exercise periods for safety concerns.
Located on the initial level, the section has nineteen similar cells and a dedicated exercise yard so inmates are not required to mix with fellow inmates – even though they are still exposed to calls, jeers and smartphone photos from adjacent cells.
Mostly for such concerns, Sarkozy will reportedly be held in the isolation ward, which is in a separate wing. In reality, the environment are largely identical as in the protected unit: the ex-president will be by himself in his cell and escorted by a guard whenever he exits.
“The goal is to prevent any incidents whatsoever, so we must block him from coming into contact with fellow detainees,” a prison source stated. “The most straightforward and most effective solution is to send Nicolas Sarkozy directly to isolation.”
Accommodation Details
Both solitary and protected rooms are similar to those elsewhere in the jail, roughly about 10 square meters, with window blinds created to limit contact, a bed, a writing table, a shower, toilet, and stationary phone with pre-recorded numbers.
Sarkozy is provided with standard meals but will additionally have the ability to the canteen, where he can acquire items to make his own meals, as well as to a individual outdoor space, a gym and the library. He can rent a refrigerator for seven euros fifty a per month and a TV for €14.15.
Controlled Interactions
In addition to three allowed visits a per week, he will mostly be by himself – an advantage in the prison, which despite its recent upgrades is running at approximately double its intended capacity of 657 detainees. France’s jails are the third most packed in the European Union.
Items Brought
Sarkozy, who has consistently asserted his non-guilt, has declared he will be carrying with him a biography of Jesus Christ and a copy of The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas, in which an falsely convicted person is given a sentence to jail but flees to get retribution.
Sarkozy’s attorney, Jean-Michel Darrois, mentioned he was additionally packing hearing protection because prison can be loud at nighttime, and several sweaters, because rooms can be chilly. Sarkozy has commented he is fearless of being in jail and aims to utilize the time to write a publication.
Uncertain Duration
It is unclear, though, the length of time he will actually be housed in the prison: his attorneys have submitted for his conditional release, and an reviewing judge will need to demonstrate a potential of absconding, further crimes or witness-tampering to warrant his continued detention.
French legal experts have suggested he could be out before a month passes.
