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French Prisoner Recaptured After Concealing Himself in Cellmate’s Bag

Three separate investigations are probing security failures at the overcrowded Lyon-Corbas facility

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Inside view of the new prison of Lyon-Corbas, near Lyon, southeastern France, April 2, 2009. The prison will open May 2009 and more than 500 prisoners will be transferred from old local jails.
Medias wait outside the prison of Lyon-Corbas on February 20, 2019, in Corbas, as Cecile Bourgeon will be released after her sentence to twenty years imprisonment for blows fatal to her five-year-old daughter Fiona in 2013, was cancelled by the Appeal Court. - The appeal trial in the 'Fiona affair' restarted on January 29, with the hope to uncover the mystery of the girl that disappeared in 2013. The girl's mother Cecile Bourgeon, sentenced to 5 years in prison at first instance for lying for months about a kidnapping of the child, and his ex-companion Berkane Makhlouf, who had been sentenced to 20 years imprisonment for blows fatal to Fiona, are to appear again before another appeal court. (Photo by Jeff PACHOUD / AFP)        (Photo credit should read JEFF PACHOUD/AFP via Getty Images)
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Overview

  • The 20-year-old fugitive was arrested on July 14 as he emerged from a cellar in Sathonay-Camp, about 15 km from Lyon
  • Lyon prosecutors say he faces charges of escape as part of an organized gang and participation in a criminal conspiracy
  • Lyon-Corbas prison holds roughly 1,200 inmates in a facility built for 678, with officials warning that overcrowding hampers routine checks
  • Sébastien Cauwel, head of France’s prison service, described the break as an “accumulation of errors” and ordered an internal inquiry
  • A judicial probe is examining whether the escape involved collusion with organized crime networks