In a report published today, the Council of Europe's anti-torture committee (CPT) calls on Belgium to solve its chronic problem of prison overcrowding and to take measures to ensure that strikes of prison staff do not have a negative impact on inmates.
During its visit to Belgium in 2013, the CPT visited the prisons of Antwerp, Forest, Merksplas and Tournai, where it found that overcrowding was still a major problem despite the "Masterplan" for renovating and constructing new prisons.
In the establishments visited, many prisoners held in multiple-occupancy cells had only 3 m² of living space per person, or even less, with some having to sleep on mattresses on the floor. Prisoners at Forest and Tournai Prisons did not have toilets in their cells and had to use a bucket at night. Further, most of the prisoners spent 21 hours a day in their cell because there were too few activities on offer. The CPT recommends that the Belgian authorities provide at least 4 m² of living space for each prisoner, improve detention conditions, and increase the number of activities and work opportunities available to prisoners. (more...)