An investigation has been opened into the reported rape of a prisoner at Antwerp prison, the Antwerp prosecutor’s office confirmed on Saturday morning.
According to the Flemish newspaper Gazet Van Antwerpen, the victim is a man incarcerated for drug trafficking offences. He was allegedly raped while asleep and may have been drugged.
Kristof Aerts, spokesperson for the Antwerp prosecutor’s office, stated that the incident has been classified as rape and the administration of inhibitive or disinhibitive substances.
The victim had been sharing his cell with two other men. Investigators are now working to determine whether those cellmates were involved in the incident. All three prisoners have since been moved to separate cells.
Antwerp prison, like many other Belgian prisons, has been grappling with overcrowding and staff shortages for years. Last year, another inmate was raped and tortured for several days by fellow prisoners. The perpetrators were recently sentenced to prison term.
