Belgium’s Justice Minister, Annelies Verlinden (CD&V), is proposing stricter prison regimes for serious drug criminals.
In Italy, severe drug offenders are subject to the "41-bis regime," where they are isolated, receive fewer visits, and are under constant surveillance. In the Netherlands, these criminals are held in separate facilities with strictly limited communication and contact with the outside world, and the guards rotate frequently to prevent the formation of bonds with inmates. France is taking it further by planning a high-security prison in the rainforest of French Guiana by 2028, intended primarily for the most dangerous drug criminals and terrorists, with security managed by a paramilitary unit.
Minister Verlinden aims to study these foreign models to assess their applicability in Belgium. She also plans to evaluate which Belgian prisons could potentially implement stricter regimes. A working group has already been established, including the police, federal prosecution office, state security, justice department, and the Directorate-General of Penitentiary Institutions.
Verlinden states that there is already a legal foundation for a separate security regime, although additional legislative action might be necessary depending on the detention conditions adopted.
