A mobile phone, which is only 9 square meters without toilets, can hold up to three prisoners. Sometimes one of them has to sleep on the floor due to lack of space. This is common in Belgium, which has suffered from severe prison overcrowding for many years, as reported by the nonprofit 9m².
The forest prison in Brussels, which was closed a few years ago, is an example of these conditions. The voices of those who had to survive here are still heard. One of them is Jean-Luc Mahy, a former prisoner who has earned a degree behind bars for over 18 years and has considered taking their own life several times due to tough circumstances.
“Of course there’s tension in the prison. I was the victim of four murder attempts. I remember when I was 18 and the man came into my cell, thinking he had killed my girlfriend and defeated me, one of them saved my life.”
“They took me to the shower. I was completely naked, water was running, I was defecating between the butt sections and bleeding a lot. Don’t forget about those moments.”
Prison Museum
The 9m² association was created to show the problems that prisoners face and make people think.
Its members have transformed the empty forest prison into a “multi-faceted meeting space” that can help researchers, students, civil servants and former prisoners share their experiences and find solutions to problems that are exacerbated.
“We see that prison overcrowding continues to increase. There is no improvement. It worries us. After the government, we seem to be stuck in the same pattern of incarceration,” says Lambert.
He also explains, “meaning overcrowding means that inmates with very different needs are forced to share small spaces, increasing tension.”
There is also a “lack of resources” when social fields are used for accommodation and there is no space left for learning or activities. In the 9m² director’s words, “Prisons solve nothing under these conditions, because it was a waste of time for illiterate to leave their illiterate and stay in prison.”
The lack of staff makes it difficult to oversee prisoners and provide personal support. “All this creates a favorable climate with violence inside the walls, and ensures that both prisoners and staff are at risk,” explains Lambert.
Without adequate psychological support, prisoners will have fewer opportunities to reintegrate, says 9m².
“We don’t allow social workers, doctors and psychiatrists to look after the prisoners and allow these people to leave on better terms than they have entered,” Lambert emphasized.
A wide range of issues in Europe
Belgium is one of the frontline countries when it comes to prison overcrowding presence in Europe, with over 13,000 people in a prison system designed to hold 11,000 people. Overcrowding is common in France, Italy and Cyprus.
The European Commission on Prevention of Torture (CPT) regularly visits European prisons to ensure that they are functioning properly and that human rights are not violated. According to a recent survey conducted in 2024, European countries that experience the most severe overcrowding in prisons, determined by more than 105 prisoners per 100 locations are Slovenia (134), Cyprus (132), France (124), Italy (118), Romania (116), and Belgium (113).
Countries with moderate overcrowding, over 105 capacity include Croatia (110), Ireland (105), and Sweden (105). Nearly saturated conditions were also observed in Scotland (100), England and Wales (98), and Serbia (98).
The situation is getting worse as European prisons could increase by up to 200% between 2023 and 2027, according to Eurostat data.
Political context
Overcrowding in prisons is often associated with the country’s sociopolitical situation and the belief that long sentences are the most effective form of justice.
Hugh Chetwind, executive director of the European Commission for Torture Prevention, cited Italy, France, or the UK as a country with “overcrowding issues,” and “chosen to strengthen criminal law,” including drug crimes.
“The problem is that we are not confident in alternatives to drug crime incarceration, for example, the imposition of electronic bracelets and community service could prevent people from going to prison,” Hugh Chetwind told Euroneus.
At the same time, he says that there is an increase in organized crime in Europe, and these groups “can continue their work and business while in prison, as staff don’t have proper control.”
Adding to this is the fact that “in most countries, if a court sends a person to a prison with a valid warrant to hold them in, the prison will accept them, even if it means that they cannot expel them and they must sleep on a mattress on the cell phone floor.”
Chetwynd believes there is still a long way to go before European society becomes widely aware that prisons should reflect and contribute to society’s improvement.
