The police in Antwerp have started an investigation into torture practices in a prison in that city. A cellmate was allegedly tortured and raped there for days, putting his life in danger. There are videos of the abuse.
Image: Antwerp prison (photo: Federal Public Service Justice)
Danger to life
Detainees are said to have raped and tortured a cellmate for days, reports the Gazet van Antwerpen. The victim then had to be taken to hospital in life-threatening condition. He is now said to be stable again.
Broomstick
The torturers call the man in a video ‘pedophile’. One image shows the victim screaming while his cellmates anally rape him with a broomstick. The images surfaced in the criminal circuit in Antwerp.
The fellow inmates also forced the man to eat a sandwich with their feces. The man gags, to the amusement of the cellmates. The images show how his face was beaten to a pulp.
Attempted murder
The man is not currently in prison for sexual offences, the newspaper writes. He is suspected of attempted murder. Last year, 41-year-old RJ was convicted of assault and battery on his then pregnant girlfriend.
In 2017 he was convicted of sexual offences. He had raped and sexually assaulted minors.
Five suspects in the torture will be interrogated. The cell where the facts took place has been sealed for the investigation, the Gazet reports.
Strike
A 24-hour strike took place in the prison on Sunday evening at 10 p.m. The torture allegedly started before the strike, but continued during and after without anyone noticing.
The unions will hold a press conference about the case on Wednesday. According to the unions, the affair is a direct consequence of years of government mismanagement of prisons.
