Prime Minister Alexander De Croo urged local authorities on Thursday to stop resisting the establishment of detention homes across the country.
"Claims like - detention homes are fine, just not in my locality - will not solve the problem," said the Prime Minister during a parliamentary session in response to concerns about a torture case in Antwerp prison. Indeed, a detainee was allegedly tortured for three days at the hands of his fellow inmates without the guards noticing.
The incident in question provoked a significant outcry in Flanders. Justice Minister Paul Van Tigchelt was grilled by both Flemish and Francophone opposition members on Wednesday's committee meeting, with De Croo subjected to questioning on Thursday. Once again, the issue of prison overcrowding became the key focus.
"If we want to solve the problem, we must also stop feeding the NIMBY (Not In My Backyard) mentality," De Croo warned, implying that this resistance inevitably leads to further prison overcrowding.
The government has allocated funds for the construction of 15 detention homes - small-scale facilities where short-term sentences are served. To date, only two have been established, one in Kortrijk, and the other in Forest. The remaining projects face local opposition.
