An officer in the prison of Saint-Gilles has been suspended following a brutal attack by inmates on another prisoner during their allocated time outdoors. This marks the second such incident in a matter of days.
Dealers regularly throw bags of drugs over prison walls, including into the Saint-Gilles prison in Brussels. Here, they land in the courtyard where prisoners can find them during their walk outdoors. Prisoners are searched when going back inside and so try other means to smuggle drugs into the buildings.
Almost two weeks ago, some inmates singled out a victim to smuggle in the substances, Het Nieuwsblad reported. They forced him to the ground and invasively inserted the drugs into his anus. The victim suffered severe injuries as a result.
A senior officer saw the incident but did not intervene or report it to her superiors. Prison guards who were also aware of the abuse did so out of conscience, and one of them reportedly went to the police to file a complaint.
Consequently, the senior officer who witnessed the incident has been suspended. The police have been informed, interviewed the victim and initiated an investigation. An internal investigation has also been launched by the Prison Service.
Second horrific incident
Last week, a similar case of inmate violence came to light at Antwerp Prison. The 41-year-old victim was severely injured and hospitalised. His cellmates were arrested and charged with attempted murder, rape and torture. They are expected to appear before the prison board on Monday.
The inmate was humiliated and tortured by his cellmates for at least three, possibly four days. Unions representing the prison officers noted that the incident was a direct consequence of overcrowding and understaffing.
Officers on the wing where the abuse occurred only found out about the incident after seeing footage of the torture that was circulated by the perpetrators, and only then did they carry out a detailed cell inspection.
