Khaberni -The French authorities announced the arrest of the prisoner El Yazid A., nicknamed "the Joker", after his escape from the Corbas prison near Lyon in an unusual manner, hiding for days before being found.
Three days after the escape, described as "rare and dangerous", on Monday morning, the end of a highly tense security chase in France was announced with the arrest of El Yazid A., known in the media as "the Joker", after he escaped inventively from Corbas prison near the city of Lyon.
The story began on Friday morning, when the 20-year-old young man, sentenced for serious crimes related to murder as part of an organized group and possession of weapons, escaped from prison by sneaking inside his cellmate's suitcase, who was scheduled to be released, according to the French magazine "Le Point".
According to the public prosecutor's statement, El Yazid took advantage of the moment his partner was released and hid inside his belongings, leaving the prison unnoticed.
Strangely, the escape was not discovered until the following day, Saturday, raising sharp questions about surveillance and inspection measures inside French prisons, and intensifying criticism of the management of penal institutions.
On Monday morning, at exactly six o'clock, "the Joker" was arrested in the town of Satonay-Camp, north of Lyon, as he was exiting a basement, according to an official statement from the prosecution. He was immediately placed in pre-trial detention, on charges of "escape as part of an organized gang" and "membership in a criminal association".
While his "accomplice" cellmate, who left the prison legally and helped in the deception, has not yet been arrested, the authorities confirmed that he is still at large, and he is being pursued.
The capture of the fugitive French Joker
The French authorities described this incident as "rare and dangerous", as Sebastien Cau, Director of the Prison Administration at the French Ministry of Justice, said in statements to the French television channel "BFM": "What happened highlights security loopholes that cannot be ignored". An urgent internal investigation has been initiated to find out how such a dangerous prisoner managed to escape
According to the public prosecutor's office, El Yazid was detained as part of a criminal investigation by "the public prosecutor's office specialized in organized crime in Paris", charged with premeditated murder and belonging to a criminal gang. A warrant had been issued for him by the fugitive search unit and the organized crime squad, leading to his arrest.
Recurring escapes raise concerns in France
This escape follows a previous incident in France last May, when Mohammad Amra fled from a guard convoy after a violent armed attack while being transported to court, in an incident described by the media as a "commando-type attack", raising increasing concern in security circles about the capabilities of criminal organizations to penetrate the security system.
Amid cinematic escape methods, complicity from inside the cells, and the suspiciously silent security for long hours, the capture of "the Joker" reveals serious security gaps, and brings to the forefront the urgent need for comprehensive reform in the prison sector and monitoring of high-risk inmates in France, while authorities continue to chase everyone who assisted in carrying out this operation that confused justice and embarrassed French security in public opinion.
