This Al Jazeera article addresses the deep crisis of the penitentiary system in Belgium, one of the richest countries in Europe, but which is facing severe overcrowding in prisons, a lack of staff and difficult living conditions for prisoners. Through the testimonies of convicts and system employees, the report highlights a reality where overcrowded cells, a lack of rehabilitation and a rise in incidents are making it increasingly difficult for the system to function.
Brussels, Belgium. Bilal knows life behind bars well. Over the past 10 years, the 34-year-old has served his sentence in five different prisons in Belgium. His strongest memories are of Mons prison, a 19th-century institution near the French border, where he says three to four prisoners were held in cells measuring just 9 square metres. He recalls the spread of diseases such as scabies, lice and monkeypox, as well as guards exhausted by the hard work. “During 10 years in prison, things have only gotten worse,” Bilal tells Al Jazeera, asking that only his first name be used. “They also took away our time out of the cells, as well as various activities.”
Belgium, one of Europe’s wealthiest countries, is facing a deep prison overcrowding crisis. In mid-May, the country’s 39 prisons held 13,733 inmates, compared with an official capacity of 11,064, according to data from the Directorate General of Prisons.
“The ever-increasing overcrowding and lack of staff make the situation very, very difficult,” warns Pieter Houbey, vice-president of the Central Council for the Supervision of Prisons (CCSP), an independent body. “The system has become almost impossible to guarantee a treatment aimed at the rehabilitation of convicts,” he adds. According to May data, 754 prisoners were sleeping on mattresses placed on the floor, up from 672 in December. Across Europe, prison populations have increased significantly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, affecting around a third of prison administrations. The highest overcrowding rates are reported in Cyprus, followed by Slovenia, France, Croatia, Italy, Romania, Austria and Belgium.
As a result, governments are facing increasing pressure, while experts and system employees criticize common solutions, such as building new prisons or transferring convicts abroad, considering them ineffective.
“LIKE MICE IN A CAGE”
“To guarantee dignified conditions, their rights must first be respected, so that they are not treated like rats in a cage,” says Yasin Sarikaya, deputy head of Brussels prisons. Prisoners, especially those in pre-trial detention, often spend 22 to 23 hours a day locked in their cells, which deepens the lack of privacy and exacerbates potential health problems or addictions. Medical care is often delayed for months. Loic, 23, who is serving a seven-year sentence in the Saint-Gilles prison in Brussels, an institution that is expected to close by 2028, says that opportunities for work or activities are very limited.
Many prisoners, he says, do not have residence permits. “It will be very difficult to get back into the job market,” he says. Bilal, convicted of two bank robberies and an attempted murder, says he has had periods of suicidal thoughts while in prison. In recent years, videos have appeared on social media showing drones smuggling contraband into prisons. In 2024, a video went viral showing a prisoner being raped by five others in his cell while guards were on a 48-hour strike and did not intervene.
LACK OF STAFF AND GUARD FATIGUE
These conditions are further compounded by the staff shortage. At Haren prison, the country’s largest complex, several guards are injured and unable to return to work, says Sarikaya, who works there. According to the general directorate of prisons, serious incidents in prisons have doubled in a year. While crime rates have fluctuated, experts link the situation to Belgium’s penal policies and the toughening of the fight against drug crime.
A key factor is the decision in 2023 to execute all sentences of up to 3 years in prison, which were previously often replaced by electronic monitoring. The average length of imprisonment has also increased to 9.9 months, an increase of almost 40% in five years. Pre-trial detention also accounts for 32% of prisoners, well above the European average of 24.7%.
EMERGENCY MEASURES
In July last year, the Belgian parliament passed an emergency law. It provides for the wider use of alternative punishments for sentences of less than three years and allows prison authorities to release prisoners up to six months before the end of their sentence, for sentences of up to 10 years. In the long term, the government aims to install modular units and renovate existing prisons, while building new institutions. But according to Professor An-Sofie Vanhouche from the University of Brussels, these measures will not solve the problem. “Studies show that the more prison space we have, the more people we send to prison,” she says.
“Prison for rent”
As part of its tougher immigration policies, Belgium is also considering deporting illegal inmates, who make up about a third of its prison population. This year, the justice minister visited Estonia to discuss renting cells there. Similar deals are also being considered with Kosovo and Albania. Belgium is not alone in this regard. Sweden has reached an agreement with Estonia for 400 cells to rent, while Denmark has previously taken 300 cells in Kosovo.
According to Professor Vanhouche, these are “largely symbolic and populist” measures. She says their impact is small, while raising serious questions about the rights and dignity of prisoners. The justice ministries in Belgium, Sweden and Denmark have not commented, while Estonia stresses that prisoners remain protected by European human rights standards.
LONG-TERM SOLUTIONS
Critics are calling for Belgium to shift from a punitive policy to one of rehabilitation and reintegration into society. “Prisons increase recidivism,” warns Tahar Elhamdaoui, founder of the organization “Collectif Desistance,” which helps former prisoners reintegrate. According to him, the rate of recidivism in Belgium is 60-70%. Thanks to the help of this organization, Bilal is doing an internship as a football coach, while Loic is trying out different jobs during his days off. But this, says Elhamdaoui, is not the rule.
“Until prisons prepare people for life outside, we will not stop producing more crime and more despair upon release,” he says.