Prison system
Several people were injured in a serious fight in the overcrowded prison in Antwerp’s Begijnenstraat on Tuesday afternoon.
The incident in Begijnenstraat took place on Tuesday during the walk. According to reliable sources within the prison system, the incident started after several objects were thrown over the prison wall, the Gazet van Antwerpen reports. Some detainees tried to get hold of those items, and a fight broke out.
Knives were then allegedly thrown from various cells, causing the incident to quickly get out of hand. Several detainees suffered stab wounds. Lawyers who were present in the prison at the time of the incident saw how a heavily bleeding detainee had to be removed.
The staff at the prison in Begijnenstraat notified the police services. The Mobile Unit (ME) and the rapid response team (SRT) of the Antwerp police arrived on site to restore order. The officers had to take about eighty detainees back to their cells.
In a response, the Prison Service confirms the facts, but qualifies them. “The walk was restless and it was noticed that table knives were being thrown from the cells onto the walk. Therefore, immediate assistance was requested from the police, who provided the necessary support to allow the detainees to enter. Then peace returned. Two detainees appeared to have minor cuts and were taken to hospital for treatment,” said spokesman Tom Van Wynsberge. According to him, the knives were subsequently recovered.
Overpopulation
The incident has once again led to tensions in Antwerp’s Begijnenstraat, the most overcrowded prison in the country. There are currently approximately 670 prisoners in Begijnenstraat, while there is only capacity for just over 420 prisoners.
In Belgian prisons, about eighty detainees are forced to sleep on the floor. Half of the ground sleepers are in the very outdated Antwerp prison. The prison guards’ unions took action this week against the deplorable state of the prison building.
