Brussels, June 24, 2025 — Belgium’s prison system is grappling with a deepening crisis as inmate numbers surge to a historic high, forcing hundreds to sleep on floors and prompting urgent calls for reform from prison oversight bodies.
According to figures released by the Belgian prison administration and reported by La Libre Belgique on Tuesday, the total prison population reached 13,118 as of Monday.
This starkly exceeds the official capacity of 11,040 places nationwide, pushing the occupancy rate to over 119%. Of particular concern is the revelation that 320 inmates are now sleeping on mattresses placed directly on cell floors.
The record-breaking figures have reignited criticism over the nation’s chronic prison overcrowding problem, a longstanding issue that has drawn repeated censure from both domestic and international watchdogs.
Thérèse d’Udekem d’Acoz, president of the Prison Monitoring Commission (Commission de Surveillance Pénitentiaire, CSP) for the Huy-Marneffe detention facility, described the current conditions as “disgraceful” and “unworthy of a state governed by the rule of law.”
Speaking to La Libre Belgique, d’Udekem d’Acoz detailed the extreme overcrowding in some prisons, such as Huy-Marneffe, where 98 detainees are crammed into spaces designed for just 63.
“We are witnessing an inhumane deterioration in living standards,” she said. “Cells originally built for a single person are now housing four. On some days, the only available sleeping space is the narrow strip of floor between a bunk bed, a tiny table, two chairs, and a WC partitioned by a small wall — in a 9-square-metre space.”
Inmates are often confined to these overcrowded cells for up to 23 hours a day, with little to no access to meaningful activities, fresh air, or social support.
Observers warn that such conditions are likely to exacerbate mental health issues and heighten tensions within the prison population, potentially leading to unrest or violence.
Human rights advocates have long criticized Belgium’s penal system for overcrowding and poor detention conditions, with the European Court of Human Rights repeatedly flagging violations over the past decade.
In 2023, the Council of Europe’s anti-torture committee issued a report urging Belgium to adopt urgent structural reforms to address systemic overcrowding, including alternatives to pre-trial detention and increased investment in rehabilitation.
Despite the warnings, structural change has been slow. A planned expansion of prison infrastructure, including the controversial construction of new “mega-prisons,” has faced legal and political delays.
Meanwhile, the use of pre-trial detention remains high, contributing to the mounting pressure on prison space.
D’Udekem d’Acoz emphasized the need for a paradigm shift. “We must stop measuring prison policy by the number of cells and start focusing on human dignity, legal safeguards, and reintegration.”
With the summer months approaching and no immediate relief in sight, prison rights organizations and legal experts are urging the Justice Ministry to take swift action before the situation spirals further out of control.
Belgium’s prison population, they warn, cannot continue to grow unchecked without irreparably damaging the rights and welfare of those behind bars.
