Inmate takes Belgian state to court over conditions in Haren prison

A drugs offender is suing the Belgian state over the conditions he is being held in at Haren prison in Brussels, which his lawyer describes as a place where detainees are forgotten.

The man, an Antwerp resident, has brought summary proceedings against the state. He has serious medical problems and is not receiving the care he needs, according to his lawyer Hans Van de Wal.

Last week, he said, his client waited in his cell for a medical procedure that never happened because nobody came to collect him.

Van de Wal also told the court that his client had seen two detainees carried out in body bags. Both died after their medical follow-up fell short, he said.

“Haren is supposed to be the most modern prison in the country, but it’s a place where people get forgotten,” Van de Wal told Bruzz.

Staff shortages mean work on the inmate’s reintegration file has stalled. As a result, he cannot appear before the sentence enforcement court.

The lawyer is asking for a penalty of €50,000 for every day the prison is over capacity and minimum staffing levels are not met.

The government’s own website puts Haren’s capacity at 1,035. Van de Wal said it is currently holding between 1,500 and 1,600 people.

The state argued that a judge in summary proceedings has no authority to impose measures that would change how the prison is organised, and that other procedures exist to deal with the inmate’s medical complaints.

Haren prison opened in 2022, replacing the old prisons in Saint-Gilles, Forest and Berkendael.

The judge is expected to rule later this month.