Tortured Belgian prisoner receives ankle bracelet and does not have to return for the time being

NOS News•today, 00:37

The Belgian man who was tortured by his cellmates for three days is allowed to leave the hospital today. His lawyer reported this to VRT News, among others.

The man will receive an ankle bracelet and will not have to go back to jail for the time being. “It took a lot of effort to arrange shelter for our client,” his lawyer told HLN. “He has recovered sufficiently physically, but medical care remains necessary on a daily basis.”

He suffered serious burns, among other things. The man was in pre-trial detention in an Antwerp prison after an alleged murder attempt on the partner of his ex-girlfriend. He was beaten, raped with a broomstick and doused with hot water by his fellow prisoners. His cellmates filmed the abuse of the man, who they believe is a pedophile. According to HLN, he was previously imprisoned for raping a 14-year-old.

“Given what happened, he can continue his detention with an ankle bracelet at a location where he can receive the necessary care,” says his lawyer. “So no longer in a setting behind bars where those facts happened.”

The man’s five cellmates were arrested in their cells for the assault. Three men are suspected of attempted murder, assault and rape, among other things. Two are suspected of failing to help the man.

The prison – like other prisons in Belgium – is overcrowded. There had been problems in the Antwerp prison for years, experts say. A prison guard said the abuse could take place due to the “marginal conditions in which staff have to work and detainees are housed”.