The Belgian State was condemned last Thursday by the Mons Court of Appeal for the degrading treatment resulting from detention in the Mons prison, reports La Libre Belgique.
The ruling highlights that the issue of prison overcrowding in Belgium, particularly in Mons prison, is not incidental and the Belgian State has not implemented suitable measures to resolve it.
A detainee, along with the Order of French-speaking and German-speaking Bars (Avocats.be), took legal action against the State in May 2015. At that time, the overcrowding rate was already 130% (400 detainees for 307 places).
Nearly ten years later, the situation has worsened, with the facility now housing an average of 417 inmates daily, equating to a 136% occupancy rate.
The severity and persistence of overcrowding in this facility, along with its dilapidated condition, constitutes degrading treatment, the ruling states.
The court considers fundamental rights to be violated when occupancy exceeds 110% of capacity. The Belgian State must reduce the prison population to this limit by March 2026. Failure to do so will result in a fine of €2,000 per day per excess inmate.
Avocats.be points to the structural nature of overcrowding and notes that all courts addressing the issue have agreed on this perspective.
