Retention center of Lyon: Video of police brutality

On Friday 16th, the retention center’s prisoners, next to Lyon near the airport, began at midday a hunger strike.

On Thursday 15/08, in the evening, cops put off the light in the cells at 10pm. They clubbed the people who were inside and wounded several of them…
A video came out from the retention center. Those images are rare and answer the detainees’ will to show what’s going on inside.

[Video here]

On Friday, the struggling was continuing with massive tear gas and their enclosing in the courtyard, and for some of them in a cage in the courtyard.

Lot of strength to them in the fight they’re leading and the suppression they’re enduring
Fire to the borders, to jails, to the retention centers which is both of them, and to this racist system of imprisonment !

Philanthrope, prisoner at immigration detention center in Lyon, France, 2019

So do you want to talk about what happened inside the center?

All the day you mean? Start from the morning ‘til the night?

Like you want…

So hum this time I’m coming in ramaddan you know, this is maybe a different time of life than normally days you know.
So, but, they wake up us at 10 o’clock on morning and they checking all the rooms, and they leave the bed down and everything is not like they, like how they found it before. So…
And then we go out through the hall here, and there is some people they are going for take the breakfast and after the breakfast they give them the pills, like the drugs pills, you know, like Valium, Rivotril like that. The police they giving the persons here. They giving the pill drugs! And because of that pills they’re fighting each other and they’re fighting with the police and everything you know.

But the rules here, if you want to ask something for your travel, for next travel, which destination they will send you, they don’t, they don’t wanna answer you! They live it like a surprise!
Er… Before one day or two days they’re coming to say that you have a travel tomorrow, early morning to some destination, you didn’t know it before, you know.
At least they should give us some information before like one week, like two weeks like that. Or make you choose you know. Do you understand what I mean?
You should have more time for the… before the travel you know! Before… Because you have to ask your friends, your family to bring your clothes back, your papers, your folders and everything like that! Not like a surprise after one day!
They say tomorrow, after tomorrow if you have a chance they will say after tomorrow…

So… And the people when they fighting with the police they are outside, they’re leaving, when they… The people they going inside the rooms, because the rooms they don’t have a camera. And inside the room they crashing in the police too you know!

Ok, and it’s often?

Yeah yeah. It’s not always but sometimes… I will say, that’s happening sometimes you know.

What the people can do after it in order to have protection?

To protection they don’t have nothing to do you know, they’re doing nothing… Maybe they hide the camera and they will fighting with the police again.
If you want the police come back you have to hide the camera for coming back.

And do you want to talk about Forum Réfugiés?

Forum Réfugiés… is the same things you know, the same things, it’s the same things! They’re calling you, and you ask them, and they say « There is nothing to say », « There is no news »!
The same things! Before one day, two days, you will know it not from Forum but from the civil police you know…

Like the Forum is extra here you know, that’s extra for… for asking for nothing you know, hum. They tell if you don’t ask them. I ask them two, three times and the same answer « there is nothing new », « there is no news ».
And all people this all than me here. And they are asking the same questions. If you ask the Forum, they answer you, they say « no never ».
You should waiting.
That’s it.

Hum and do you saw people which wanted to talk to Forum about what happened with police inside?

Inside, nobody talking with the Forum you know of what’s happening inside.
Like yesterday, two person they are fighting each other you know. The police they coming and they… One police they… They kicking you know, they kick one guy from them you know. Yeah, they kick one and then they put him for three hours and they leave him out, you know, yesterday.

Three hours where?

Three hours inside a room… Only in a room you know. It’s closed room.

Ah ok, « isolement »?

Yeah yeah… And today his face is [inaudible] you know, because of the kick of from the police you know, they kick his face, you know, in his face. Yeah…

I have to say something about the rules here. It’s not like Europe you know. There is some people they’re having asile in other countries. So the rules they should ask him when they have asile for get him back. Not for his mother country you know.
Here the rule is, they changed it or I don’t know! They’re asking, the first one, they’re asking HIS mother country. They don’t ask the second country when they did have asile, or they have asile.
You know, this is a problem, when there is some people they have a problem inside…
Sorry [he’s caughing] because I’m fastening today you know.

There is some people I said they have asile because they have big big problems in his mother countries. So, the rules here, they should ask him where they have asile for send him back. Not send him back to his mother country you know.
This is illegal I think so.

And what about consulats?

The consulat they took us, us North Africa I mean. They make a round you know.
They’re asking Tunisian ambassade, Tunisian consulat and after one week they took us to Algerian consulat and after two or three days they’re asking Moroccan consulat for get you back you know.
If they didn’t find nothing, they’re asking you for your passport, « where is your passport?! ». If I don’t have, if I’m illegal here, why you don’t ask me for my passport? If I have a passport I will go to other country, not here, you know.

So that’s it.

I want to say, that world is for humanity, for all of us you know. I should choose when I wanna live, not them you know.
We can’t fighting for hiding the borders. There is no borders in the world.

And thanks a lot for this registration.