The Belgian Public Prosecutor’s Office Has Demanded Prison Sentences of Fifteen to Twenty Years Against Three Prisoners. They are alleged to have tortured, raped, and humiliated their cellmate in the Antwerp Prison for Days Last March.
The Incident Took Place During a Prison Staff Strike and Only Came To Light When Images Of The Torture Were Circulated. The Case caused great outrage. The Victim, A 41-Year-old Detainee, was Abused for 72 Hours by Five Cellmates Who Suspended Him of Pedophilia. This was incorrect, it later turned out.
Accordance to His Lawyer, Issabel de Fré, The Event “Defies All Imagination.” She Described in Court, Among Other Things, How Her Client had his teeth Knocked out, was Doused in Boiling Water, and was forced to eat a sandwich with his own excrement. He was also raped with a broomstick and his genitals were tied off.
The Torture, which Before the Strike and Continued after it ended, Went Unnoticed for a Long Time. Unions PreviOutly Staff Did Notice The Abuse because the Victim was forced to Remain Silent and Stay Under A Blanket.
The horrific abuse was only discovered after days, after which the Victim was tasks to the hospital in critical condition. The Stayed There For Two Week with Serious Injuries.
The Prosecution Suspects Three of the Five Cellmates of Attempted Murder. They Allegedly Actively ABUUSED and RAPED The Victim. The Remaining Two Cellmates are accused of not intervening, While They Were Present During the Torture.
Accordance to the unions, the incident was a “direct result” of years of overcrowding in Belgian Prisons and Persistent Understaffing. The Prison Staff Strike Lasted 24 Hours. But Unions Have Been Warning for Years About Malpractices and Safety Risks caused by Staff Shortages.