Major brawl in Antwerp prison after inmates throw knives down from cell: several injured (Antwerp)

Several people were injured yesterday afternoon during a serious fight in the overcrowded prison in Antwerp’s Begijnenstraat. The police mobile unit and rapid response team had to intervene to restore order.

The incident in Begijnenstraat took place on Tuesday during the walk. According to reliable sources within the prison system, the incident started after all kinds of goods were thrown over the prison wall by unknown persons. Some detainees tried to grab the goods that were thrown over the wall, causing a fight.

Knives were then thrown from various cells, causing the incident to quickly get out of hand. Several detainees suffered stab wounds. Lawyers who were in prison at the time of the incident saw how a heavily bleeding detainee had to be removed.

The Begijnenstraat prison notified the police services. The Mobile Unit (ME) and the rapid response team (SRT) of the Antwerp police arrived on site to restore order and peace in the Antwerp prison. The riot police and the SRT had to take about 80 detainees back to their cells.

The incident has once again caused tensions in Antwerp’s Begijnenstraat, the most overcrowded prison in the country. There are currently approximately 670 prisoners in Begijnenstraat, while there is only capacity for just over 420 prisoners.

In Belgian prisons, about 80 detainees are forced to sleep on the floor. Half of the ground sleepers are in the very outdated Antwerp Begijnenstraat prison. The prison guards’ unions took action this week against the deplorable state of the prison building. (vdaa)