What Awaits the Former President in the La Santé Facility and What Personal Items Has He Taken?
Perhaps the nation's most notorious jail, the La Santé prison – in which ex-president of France Nicolas Sarkozy has begun a five year jail term for unlawful collusion to raise election financing from the Libyan government – stands as the sole surviving prison inside the French capital's boundaries.
Located in the southern Montparnasse district of the capital, it was inaugurated in the year 1867 and was the site of at least 40 death penalties, the last in 1972. Partially closed for refurbishment in 2014, the prison reopened half a decade later and holds more than 1,100 prisoners.
Well-known ex- detainees encompass poet Guillaume Apollinaire, the rogue trader Jérôme Kerviel, the civil servant and wartime collaborator Maurice Papon, the tycoon and politician Bernard Tapie, the 70s terrorist Carlos the Jackal, and modeling agent Jean-Luc Brunel.
Protected Wing for High-Profile Prisoners
Notable or endangered prisoners are typically accommodated in the prison's QB4 section for “individuals at risk” – the so-called “VIP section” – in solitary cells, rather than the standard triple-occupancy units, and isolated during exercise periods for protection purposes.
Situated on the first floor, the unit has a set of uniform units and a reserved exercise yard so prisoners are not obliged to interact with other detainees – even though they remain exposed to shouts, jeers and cellphone pictures from adjacent cells.
Primarily for such concerns, Sarkozy will reportedly be held in the isolation ward, which is in a distinct block. In reality, conditions are very similar as in the QB4 ward: the ex-president will be solitary in his unit and escorted by a corrections officer every time he exits.
“The aim is to prevent any incidents at all, so we need to stop him from meeting other prisoners,” a source within the facility stated. “The simplest and most effective solution is to assign Nicolas Sarkozy immediately to solitary confinement.”
Accommodation Details
Both isolation and protected units are similar to those elsewhere in the institution, averaging around 10 sq metres, with coverings on windows designed to restrict communication, a bed, a compact desk, a shower, lavatory, and landline telephone with authorized contacts only.
Sarkozy will be served typical prison food but will additionally have the option to the prison store, where he can purchase food to make his own meals, as well as to a private exercise yard, a exercise room and the prison library. He can lease a refrigerator for seven euros fifty a per month and a TV for fourteen euros fifteen.
Restricted Visits
Apart from three permitted visits a week, he will primarily be by himself – a luxury in the prison, which in spite of its modernization is running at approximately twice its intended capacity of 657 detainees. The country's jails are the third most overcrowded in the European Union.
Personal Belongings
Sarkozy, who has steadfastly asserted his innocence, has said he will be taking with him a life story of Jesus and a edition of The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas, in which an falsely convicted person is condemned to prison but breaks out to take revenge.
Sarkozy’s lawyer, Jean-Michel Darrois, said he was additionally bringing noise blockers because the facility can be disruptive at nighttime, and several sweaters, because units can be cold. Sarkozy has commented he is fearless of spending time in jail and plans to use it to compose a publication.
Release Prospects
The duration is unknown, however, how long he will actually stay in the facility: his legal team have lodged for his premature release, and an appeals judge will must establish a risk of flight, further crimes or influencing testimony to warrant his ongoing incarceration.
France's jurists have proposed he might be released in less than a month.
