The Council of Europe is urging Belgium to address overcrowding in its prison system, according to a statement published on Friday.
“The Committee of Ministers of the 46-member Council of Europe has urged the Belgian authorities to intensify their efforts to develop a comprehensive and ambitious long-term strategy to combat prison overcrowding, with a timetable, as soon as possible,” read the statement.
The Strasbourg-based organization, which aims to uphold human rights in Europe, said Belgian prisons were operating at more than 120 percent capacity as of March, with 710 detainees forced to sleep on mattresses on the floor. It called on Belgium to reduce the occupancy rate to below 100 percent and push for a better distribution of prisoners.
Packed prisons have been a recurring topic in Belgium for months. Two weeks ago, the director of Haren Prison in northern Brussels resigned due to frustrations over the conditions and staffing shortages. Belgium prison staff have also repeatedly staged strikes in recent months.
A mid-May report by a prison oversight body found that Belgium’s prison population had risen sharply over the past three years, from around 11,000 prisoners at the beginning of 2023 to more than 13,000 at the beginning of this year.
Belgian media linked the increase to a government decision requiring prison sentences of up to three years be served more consistently. The oversight body’s report backs this view, showing that the numbers of prisoners sentenced for up to three years increased from around 400 in 2023 to around 1,500 in 2026.
According to the Council of Europe, Belgium should not build more prisons but lower the number of detainees in general. It suggests the country reduce its use and length of pretrial detention.
The debate comes as Belgium faces a rise in drug-related crime. As a consequence, the government has deployed soldiers in cities to help police combat criminal activity.
Belgian Interior Minister Bernard Quintin did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Council of Europe’s recommendations.