FRANCE: A brother is born for adversity, the Old Testament says. Two Basque men took the proverb to heart this week, when one surreptitiously replaced the other in France's most infamous prison, writes Lara Marlowe, fromParis
The escape, sans helicopter, guns or explosives, has shown up inadequate security and deeply embarrassed prison officials.
Mr José Antonio Berasategui Escudero (34) submitted a written request to the "anti-terrorist" judge Ms Laurence Le Vert to visit his brother Ismaël (33) in La Santé prison. Because the older brother had no police record, he was granted permission. The photograph on his application showed José Antonio with a bushy beard, so the magistrate didn't notice the close resemblance with the clean-shaven Ismaël, 18 months younger.
By the time José Antonio arrived at La Santé on August 18th, he had shaved his beard and cut his hair short, making him look more like little brother. José Antonio left an identity card at the reception desk, was frisked and shown to one of 40 visiting rooms, for which there are only two prison guards. Basque militants are no longer regarded as high security prisoners, so Ismaël was given an internal prison pass to walk unaccompanied to meet his brother.
The two men were left alone in a 4 metre square room. Then Ismaël - who was arrested on May 15th on weapons charges and suspicion of leading the Behorburu ("horse head") itinerant commando of the Basque separatist group ETA, - walked out of the prison with his hands in his pockets. His self-sacrificing brother found his way to Ismaël's cell, then waited five days before bringing the escape to his guards' attention.
Madrid wanted to extradite Ismaël Berasategui in connection with car bombs in Gexto, Gandia, Malaga, Madrid and Salou last year. No lives were lost in the bombings, but they did substantial material damage. Judge Le Vert wanted to question Mr Berasategui further about the theft by ETA of 1.6 tonnes of explosives from two warehouses near Grenoble. He risked ten years imprisonment in France; life imprisonment in Spain.
If he is recaptured, Ismaël Berasategui's escape will not be held against him. "Legally, there wasn't even an escape," a judicial source told Le Figaro. "There would have to be violence, a break-out or bribing of guards."
José Antonio yesterday told investigators from the National Anti-Terrorist Division that he has nothing to do with ETA, but wanted to save his brother, who was considering suicide. José Antonio could be sentenced to ten years in prison if he is convicted of consorting with ETA.
The interior minister Mr Nicolas Sarkozy was enraged by the escape, and La Santé prison has come under severe criticism for holding Mr Berasategui in a cell with another ETA militant - a violation of regulations which facilitated the switch.
The 30 year-old system of daubing a prisoner's hand with ink that shows up under ultra-violet light was proved useless. Ismaël simply rubbed the ink onto José Antonio's hand.
Four French prisoners have swapped places with visitors since 1998. Last year, three prisoners held at Borgo, in Corsica, were freed when their nationalist cohorts sent a phoney fax on Ministry of Justice letterhead.