The Toulouse Administrative Court of Appeals has condemned the state for violating lawyers’ rights at Seysses Prison, a first in France, where guards forced a prisoner to remove her bra so she could speak to him.
On September 17, 2024, the Toulouse Administrative Court of Appeal ruled in favor of Me Stella Bisseuil, a lawyer who was forced to remove her bra to enter Seysses Prison. During the check at the prison entrance, the security gate went on alert. Instead of offering a pat-down, as is the procedure in such cases, the officers made her return to her car to undress.
Me Bisseuil denounced this as an attack on his dignity and a discriminatory measure. Initially, the prison admitted the facts, then denied them. However, the Court ruled that the prison had not respected the rules regarding access to a lawyer and that his rights to defence had been violated.
“This decision is an important victory for the honour of lawyers,” said Me Bisseuil. It is the first time in France that the State has been condemned for such a violation.
The state’s conviction could have a significant impact on how attorneys are treated in prisons in the future.
