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Ghent court orders Belgium to cut prison overcrowding to 110% of capacity
Ghent’s Court of First Instance ruled that prisoners’ fundamental rights had been violated and ordered the Belgian state to reduce overcrowding at Ghent Prison to no more than 110% of its actual capacity within six months. If the limit is exceeded, a fine of €500 per prisoner per day may be imposed, with the total potentially reaching €45 million.
Ghent’s Court of First Instance ruled that prisoners’ fundamental rights had been violated at Ghent Prison in Belgium and called for overcrowding to be reduced to no more than 110% of the facility’s actual capacity within six months.
Under the court’s ruling, if the limit is exceeded at the end of the specified period, the Belgian state may face a fine of €500 per prisoner per day. The total fine could reach €45 million.
Ruling announced as strike ended
The ruling was announced on the same day that a five-day strike in Belgian prisons ended. The strike had been organized to protest overcrowding, staff shortages, inadequate infrastructure and security problems.
The nationwide strike began on the night of September 6 and ended at 10 p.m. on September 11. Staff were sent to numerous prisons during the strike to maintain minimum services, while police support was also used in some regions.
Unions call for structural solutions
Unions say the problems in the prisons have continued for years. Prisoners sleeping on mattresses on the floor, staff shortages and working conditions that have become unsafe for both employees and detainees and convicted prisoners are among the issues drawing criticism from the unions.
Capacity falls short of prison population
According to Belgian government figures, 13,470 people were held in prisons across the country on January 27, against a capacity of 11,296. On the same date, 545 prisoners were sleeping on mattresses on the floor.
In February, the government updated its master plan for prison infrastructure in response to the chronic overcrowding problem. As part of the plan, it decided to keep some older prisons in use for longer and create additional capacity.
In May, additional measures, including greater use of electronic monitoring for short prison sentences, were approved as a draft law. Unions argue that the measures do not address the structural problems and warn that new action could be considered if concrete steps are not taken.
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