Prisoners’ strike continues, police and staff requisitioned in various prisons

On Monday night, due to the guards’ strike, there was a shortage of staff in various prisons, and police assistance had to be provided and staff was requisitioned. This is reported by the prison system. For the time being, figures are only available for Monday night, the prison system does not yet have figures for Tuesday.

In the Brussels prisons of Haren and Sint-Gillis there were insufficient staff to guarantee the safety of the institution. There had to be assistance from the police. This involved 4 officers in Haren and 6 in Sint-Gillis.

In Ghent (East Flanders) and Merksplas (Antwerp), the governor requisitioned one and two staff members respectively.

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In West Flanders, Governor Carl Decaluwé announced that he had requisitioned 52 guards for the Bruges prison on Tuesday. “We look day by day at how many guards we need to requisition to guarantee the minimum service,” says Decaluwé. There are no problems for the time being in the prisons of Ypres and Ruiselede and in the detention center in Kortrijk.

Indefinitely

An indefinite strike started in Belgian prisons on Monday at 10 p.m. The three major prison staff unions called for the strike after consultations with Minister of Justice Paul Van Tigchelt (Open VLD) on overcrowding and staff shortages last week failed.

There are currently 12,104 detainees in Belgian prisons.

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