A high-security French prisoner convicted of drug trafficking was granted unescorted day release to meet an employer, sparking controversy and union criticism
VENDIN-LE-VIEIL: A prisoner convicted of drug trafficking and held in a French supermax prison was granted unescorted day release on Monday to meet a potential employer.
The decision has sparked controversy and union criticism, particularly given the inmate’s previous escape from custody in 2014.
Several vehicles departed from the high-security facility in Vendin-le-Vieil early Monday morning, according to an AFP journalist at the scene.
The justice ministry confirmed late Tuesday that the prisoner “returned safely, went through registration and was returned to his cell” without incident.
“He respected the time limit of his leave permit” requiring return by 9:00 pm, the ministry stated.
David Lacroix of the FO Justice union told AFP the prisoner was expected to travel alone by train to Lyon for an employment meeting.
Identified as Ouaihid Ben Faiza by an anonymous union source, the inmate is considered a key figure in a major Parisian suburbs drug network with a 2029 release date.
“He is not being monitored, he is not being escorted,” Ben Faiza’s lawyer Marie Violleau told BFMTV.
“He is going from point A to point B to prepare, strengthen and reinforce his reintegration,” she added.
Ben Faiza previously escaped custody during a 2014 hospital visit, remaining free for two weeks after fleeing with armed accomplices.
The release decision, made against the public prosecutor’s advice, has fuelled public outrage.
The controversy comes days after an anti-drug activist’s brother was killed in Marseille, reigniting calls to tackle drug crime in France.
Thomas Vaugrand of Ufap Unsa Justice union called the release “incompatible with the conditions of isolation”.
“We said we had to cut them off from the world,” he added, “and now we’re letting them out into the wild, all alone”.
France began moving notorious drug traffickers to Vendin-le-Vieil prison in July as part of its anti-narcotics campaign.
The facility has undergone security upgrades including concrete-paved exercise yards and airport-style body scanners.
Notorious drug baron Mohamed Amra entered the prison in July following his May 2024 escape where accomplices ambushed a prison van, killing two guards. – AFP
