Antwerp police were called to the city’s prison on Tuesday evening, where they found a 41-year-old man in his cell with life-threatening injuries. He was taken to hospital immediately.
“The investigating judge was ordered to investigate the exact circumstances on Wednesday morning, and we have now requested the arrest of five men,” the Prosecutor noted in a statement that was reported by Brussels Times.
Three men were charged with attempted murder, rape and aggravating circumstances of torture and degrading treatment. Two additional men are considered guilty as they “did not help the man, nor did they report the horror.”
Overcrowded prison and gruesome images
Images of the torture were circulated by the attackers, with the Public Prosecutor’s Office calling the public not to share these any further “because of their gruesome nature and to avoid victimising the abused person further.”
ACOD trade union representatives held a press conference later on Wednesday, explaining that the prison management only found out about the incident via the circulating video. Only then did they carry out a cell inspection.
They found that the detainee was hidden under a blanket and had been ordered to keep quiet and pretend to sleep. It all seemed very organised, said Mario Heylen of ACOD.
The union underlined that the fact that the torture continued for so long was a direct consequence of overcrowding and understaffing, resulting in these gruesome scenes.
There are currently 12,316 inmates occupying 10,743 places in prisons in Belgium, representing an overcrowding rate of 14.6%.
The cell where the incident took place was meant for three people but housed six. Staff were so overwhelmed with all kinds of tasks that they hardly had time to carry out cell checks, the union representatives said.
The prison also launched an internal investigation.
