Saint-Gilles prison in Brussels to remain open in 2025

Despite poor living conditions, the prison of Saint-Gilles in Brussels will remain open in 2025, reported Brussels news platform BRUZZ. The plan was to close the second-oldest Belgian prison at the end of this year, but that’s not possible as the new prison of Haren is already full after two years.

Officially, outgoing justice minister Paul Van Tigchelt declared that the possibility of keeping the Saint-Gilles prison open “is being examined”. But behind the scenes, it has been clear for some time that the prison – 140 years old – will continue to house inmates next year. The prison authorities now confirmed this to BRUZZ.

Overcrowding in Belgian prisons remains a persistent problem, even after the opening of the Haren prison in Brussels. After two years, it is already packed: there is room for 1,035 inmates, but there currently are 1,116 prisoners. In Europe, only Cyprus, France and Romania have higher overcrowding rates than Belgium.

Although Haren was partly created to replace the outdated cells of the Saint-Gilles prison, the prison is now actually proving crucial for Haren. “The capacity we have in Saint-Gilles is desperately needed to house Brussels prisoners,” spokesperson Kathleen Van De Vijver told BRUZZ. The prison of Saint-Gilles currently holds 496 inmates, its maximum capacity is 515.

Earlier this year, a report by the prison's monitoring committee revealed that inmates in Saint-Gilles prison are plagued by scabies and pigeon droppings on window sills are causing diseases.

^{The prison of Saint-Gilles © BELGA PHOTO HATIM KAGHAT}