Facts
On April 25, 2016, the CURABILIS correctional facility filed a criminal complaint against A., an Algerian national without a fixed abode and without a profession, for having threatened a prison guard and intentionally set fire to his sheets and a piece of laundry in his cell. A. was already serving two custodial sentences of 14 and 36 months. On June 1, 2016, the Coercive Measures Court of Geneva ordered the pre-trial detention of A. until September 1, 2016, due to the risk of flight and recidivism. This measure was extended on August 22, 2016.
A. appealed against this decision. The Criminal Appeals Chamber of Geneva dismissed the appeal, considering that the execution of the remaining sentence did not make it possible to mitigate the risks of flight and recidivism.
A. then filed a criminal appeal with the Federal Tribunal.
Considerations
The Federal Tribunal upheld the appeal. It considered that, according to case law, the execution of custodial sentences resulting from previous convictions is in principle compatible with the purpose of pre-trial detention, in particular to prevent the risks of flight and recidivism.
Certainly, the accused could benefit from arrangements in the execution of the sentence (external work, leave, conditional release) once half of the sentence has been served. However, the judge of the detention can provide, as a condition for these mitigation measures, that…