Belgian parliamentary committee approves emergency law to tackle prison overcrowding
In a second reading, Belgium's Justice Committee approved an emergency law proposed by Justice minister Annelies Verlinden (CD&V), which is aimed at addressing the country's acute prison overcrowding crisis.
As of early July, Belgium was holding over 13,700 inmates in facilities designed for just over 11,000. This has led not only to prisoners sleeping on the floor, but also to delays in enforcing sentences, with around 4,000 convicted individuals remaining free due to the suspension of their sentences. A further 600 prisoners are on extended leave.
Under the proposed law, prison would only be used as a last resort for sentences of less than three years. In such cases, judges would be required to justify custodial sentences and impose alternative sanctions for prison terms of up to six months. This reverses a policy introduced by former Justice minister Vincent Van Quickenborne (Open VLD), which required actual incarceration for sentences of less than three years.
Early release
The emergency law allows prisoners to be released early after serving one third of a sentence of up to three years, or after six months if they wear an electronic ankle tag. For longer sentences, prison directors can advise sentencing judges on granting early release, though this excludes individuals convicted of terrorism or sexual offences.
An amendment has been added to prevent offenders convicted of serious crimes, such as domestic violence, incest, or child abuse, from serving electronic tag sentences at the victim's address, even with the victim's consent. This follows a recent fatal domestic violence case in Houthalen-Helchteren, in which a man granted extended leave from prison set fire to his partner.
The bill will now be put to a vote in the Belgian parliament.
© BELGA PHOTO NICOLAS MAETERLINCK
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