Death of Maxime Rekik in Rennes prison: an open judicial investigation

Following the death of Maxime Rekik, a 25-year-old prisoner, on September 12, 2022, in Rennes prison, a judicial investigation into the causes of death was opened and entrusted to an investigating judge, learned Le Télégramme . “The Rennes public prosecutor’s office now acts in this way for all deaths occurring in a place restricting freedom when the circumstances of the death are not immediately known”, said Philippe Astruc, prosecutor. “So it’s not specific to this death.”

“In the coming days, the wife of this young man will be a civil party,” said Philippe Ohayon, lawyer for her.

Door opened then closed

In October, about a month after the detainee’s death, the Minister of Justice Éric Dupond-Moretti had ordered a general inspection of justice. Around twenty people (prison supervisors, fellow prisoners, prosecutors, examining magistrates and advisers from the integration and probation service) were heard. Objective: to make a diagnosis of a possible dysfunction of the institution.

The death of Maxime Rekik was recorded on September 12, at 4 a.m., by the Samu. However, since the day before, at 8:40 p.m., his fellow prisoner had alerted the prison staff on numerous occasions to the deterioration in Maxime Rekik’s state of health. The guards opened the cell at 11 p.m. and closed it ten minutes later. Officials did not respond to calls from his fellow prisoner. After 7:30 a.m. of agony, Maxime Rekik had died.