Decryption. Redoine Faïd's detention: health, ethics... why solitary confinement raises questions

"Imprisonment within a prison." This is how the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) described solitary confinement in a 2006 ruling . This detention regime can be ordered by a judge during the investigation or by the prison administration for security reasons. "The decision must be based on serious reasons and objective and consistent evidence that suggests serious incidents by or against the detained person," states a 2011 directive . Unlike placement in a disciplinary unit, solitary confinement is not intended as a punishment. "The reasons for the decision to place in solitary confinement must necessarily be distinct from those of any disciplinary sanction that may have preceded it," states the same directive. Also, this detention regime applies for three renewable months and cannot exceed two years except in exceptional circumstances.

In practice, the reality is quite different. Rédoine Faïd has been in solitary confinement for 12 years in the ultra-secure Vendin-le-Vieil prison (Pas-de-Calais). The multiple-convict robber—his sentence is set to end on August 17, 2057—must communicate in the visiting room via a hygiaphone, a device with a window that prevents physical contact between an inmate and his visitors. Since May, work has been carried out in his 7-8 ^m² cell, which is regularly searched, to install a second grille on his window to further reduce natural light. The inmate also deplores the regular visits by prison guards, who turn on the light four times a night. He also regrets that the prison administration does not allow him to participate in activities while in prison, apart from an art therapy activity.

These conditions of detention were described as "contrary to human dignity" on July 7 by the Béthune sentencing chamber, requesting in its order to "put an end to them […] by any means." This finding was confirmed on Monday by the Court of Appeal , which gave the prison administration one month to present "an information report on the measures taken or proposed." "It is proven that the criminological danger can only increase if Rédoine Faïd experiences despair, and if he is convinced that he has nothing more to hope for or to lose," said a psychiatric expert quoted in the Court of Appeal's ruling. According to BFMTV , the Douai public prosecutor's office has appealed.

The case of Rédoine Faïd is not so exceptional. According to prison administration figures, 20% of the 814 prisoners in solitary confinement at the end of 2023 had been there for more than two years, and 3% for more than five years. "This detention regime very often leads to punishment," laments Dominique Simonnot, General Inspector of Places of Deprivation of Liberty .

Under the leadership of Robert Badinter , France ended high-security quarters (QHS) in 1982. An independent commission concluded that there was "much more to fear that stays [in QHS] would aggravate, rather than mitigate, the dangerousness of those assigned there." "The end of QHS was considered a tremendous step forward, but they were immediately replaced by isolation quarters," warns Dominique Simonnot. According to her, this detention regime must be largely overhauled and regulated. "There must be a firm time limit on isolation. Inmates must be able to participate in walks, educational, therapeutic, artistic and sporting activities," suggests the General Inspector of Places of Deprivation of Liberty, according to whom contact with loved ones should not be prohibited.

The debate surrounding these isolation measures was relaunched last March by Gérald Darmanin . On the initiative of the Minister of Justice, the National Assembly approved the creation of a new, particularly strict detention regime for the biggest drug traffickers . It will allow for isolation measures to be taken for a renewable period of two years.

In addition to the ethical questions it raises, solitary confinement is not without consequences for the health of prisoners. "We know that prolonged solitary confinement can generate psychiatric symptoms, particularly depressive symptoms, but also psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations," explains Thomas Fovet, a lecturer in psychiatry at the University of Lille. The consequences are also physical. "It can lead to musculoskeletal pain, weight fluctuations, and even skin symptoms such as irritation," adds the co-author of the book Prison for Asylum? An Investigation into Mental Health in Prisons .

He also cites a study conducted between 2017 and 2020 in French prisons which notes that the risk of suicide increases sixfold in the two weeks following placement in solitary confinement and fourfold throughout the entire period of isolation. Finally, solitary confinement does not reduce violent behavior in detention. "In prison, access to activities and work improves people's mental health. Conversely, excluding inmates from all of this will encourage hostile behavior and aggression," notes the psychiatrist.