Hasselt Prison announced on Saturday that it would stop accepting new prisoners due to overcrowding. Other Belgian prisons are now following suit.
Prisons in Antwerp, Mechelen and Turnhout also stopped accepting inmates on Sunday morning, followed by Leuven and Bruges. In Bruges, however, only prisoners meant for other facilities are affected, clarified Alain Blancke from the Christian trade union ACV.
Union members have filed a 24-hour strike notice, set for 22:00 on 14 March, to underscore the overcrowding issue in Belgian prisons. A planned meeting with Federal Justice Minister Paul Van Tigchelt's cabinet about the strike is set for Monday, according to the ACV.
The union criticised the "lack of adequate measures" to immediately reduce the prison population, stressing that prison safety is no longer guaranteed.
Unions are demanding that Justice Minister Paul Van Tigchelt be present at any meetings resulting from the strike notice.
There was already a 24-hour strike in Belgian prisons in January, and an action week in Flanders in February, including strikes at individual prisons.
Related News
- ‘Utterly appalling’: Belgian prisons reach record number of inmates
- Hasselt Prison no longer accepting new inmates
Figures from the Federal Government revealed on Saturday that, as of 1 March, there were 12,316 detainees for 10,743 places. This means there are around 15% more prisoners than capacity, compared to almost 17% overcapacity in March 2023, when there were 11,402 detainees for 9,755 places.
Despite introducing over 281 beds to date, in early March, 250 detainees were sleeping on mattresses on the floor in prisons in the north of the country.
