Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
The government is still unable to solve the problem of overcrowding in Belgian prisons. Parliamentarian Werner Somers of the far-right Vlaams Belang party, who requested figures on this matter from Justice Minister Paul Van Tigschelet, said: "On July 1, 2024, there were 12,209 detainees in all prisons combined, while the total capacity of the Belgian prison system on that date was only 10,858 places." The capacity was therefore exceeded by 12.44 percent.

According to a statement issued by the party and received by us, "Vlaams Belang continues to insist that (illegal) foreigners should serve their sentences in their country.

"Prison overcrowding is the direct result of years of open border policy," Somers said. "Mass immigration seems to be leading to large-scale migration crimes." Of the detainees in Belgian prisons on 1 July 2024, 5,472 did not hold Belgian nationality, which is equivalent to 44.82 percent of the total prison population. Moroccan and Algerian nationalities alone represent 1,014 and 575 people respectively in Belgian prisons, i.e. 8.30 percent and 4.71 percent of the total detainees. “The government continues to refuse to report the number of detainees with a nationality other than Belgian, arguing that registration restrictions do not allow for data on possible dual nationality.” “No overcrowding without illegal immigrants in prisons” “It is extremely shocking that at least 3,645 detainees were residing illegally in our country on 1 July 2024,” Sommers continues. “This is equivalent to two-thirds of foreign detainees and 29.86 percent of the total prison population.” Some 30 percent of detainees were not allowed to stay in the country. Here too, Moroccans (674 illegal immigrants) and Algerians (519 illegal immigrants) got the cake. If there were no illegal immigrants in Belgian prisons, there would be no overcrowding, but on the contrary there would be a surplus of 2,294 places. This is roughly equivalent to the capacity of the three largest Belgian prisons in Haren, Lantien and Bruges. Illegal detainees cost taxpayers more than 200 million euros per year. These figures confirm what MP Marijke Dillen (Vlaams Belang) has regularly raised in recent years. She concludes that "the figures prove that building additional prisons is not enough to deal with the overcrowding of penal institutions, as long as the migration of certain population groups is not significantly limited and no efforts are made to effectively investigate and deport illegal aliens." Somers. “Moreover, countries that refuse to take back their illegal nationals must ultimately be held accountable. Finally, the starting point must be for foreigners to serve their sentences in their country of origin.