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Belgium

Capital city — Brussels

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Panorama

Contact with the outside world

Visitation rights

All prisoners have the right to receive visits

yes
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Loi de principes, Article 58 (in French).

Untried prisoners have the right to receive daily visits of at least one hour (tableside visit). Convicted prisoners have the right to receive a visit three times a week for at least one hour (Loi de principes, Article 58). All prisoners also have the right to unsupervised visits for two hours per month.

Prisoners must inform officials about a family visit and provide a list of the visitors.
Family members of prisoners must provide proof of their relationship. Relatives who live far away have more difficulty proving this.1 The prison director reserves the right to temporarily refuse a visit if it threatens order and security.
If visitors are not relatives, the prisoners have to give officials a photocopy of their ID.
Visits may be cancelled if visitors are late.2

  1. Belgian League for Human Rights, “Rapport sur les droits des familles de détenu.e.s”, November 2019, pp. 34-35 (in French). ↩

  2. Central Prison Monitoring Council, “Rapport annuel 2020”, 2021, p. 39 (in French). ↩

People eligible to visit

family members

The following persons are permitted to visit prisoners (Loi de principes, article 59):

  • parents, in-laws and legal guardians
  • grand-parents
  • conjugal partners
  • legal or de facto partners
  • brothers and sisters
  • aunts and uncles

Upon prior request, the prison governor may authorise other visitors if it is believed the visit has a legitimate interest for the prisoner. Lawyers and consular agents are allowed to visit prisoners daily between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m (Article 59).
At Mons prison, the same rules apply for male and female prisoners in different sections who wish to visit each other.

The internal rules set the rules for visits (Loi de principes, Article 32). Officials may terminate a visit if the visitor infringes prison regulations (Article 63). Routine visits take place under supervision (Article 62). The prison may limit the number of people visiting at the same time.

Visitors must go to the prison’s admissions area with a form of identification, where they are photographed and given a visitor’s badge. They are allowed to bring items for the prisoners that will be subject to security checks. They then go through security and leave their personal effects (keys, telephone) in a locker. They have to stay in a waiting room until a porter takes them to the visiting area.
Between 2017 and 2019, the Belgian League for Human Rights surveyed more than one hundred relatives of prisoners in six facilities. More than half reported waiting between 30 minutes and two hours before their visits. Almost 70% said the waiting room was inadequate: too small, with no air conditioning, or no accommodation for people with reduced mobility. Nearly all visitors pass through metal detectors, and additional security measures are sometimes carried out (frisking, dog searches, body searches). The searches are often done by persons of the opposite sex. Many visitors said the entry process varies significantly depending on the prison guards. According to the study, the cases of poor reception seem to be due to communication problems or guards abusing their power.1

In Forest-Berkendael (closed since November 2022) and Huy prisons, the unsupervised visiting areas are cramped, messy, and poorly equipped; some do not have windows. In Wortel-Hoogstraten prison, there are no rooms set aside for family visits and there is only one room for unsupervised visits.2

Visits are frequently cancelled when there are not enough staff present.

  1. Belgian League for Human Rights, “Rapport sur les droits des familles de détenu.e.s”, November 2019, pp. 38-45 (in French). ↩

  2. Central Prison Monitoring Council, “Rapport annuel2021”, 2022, pp. 29 and 30 (in French). ↩

  • The CCSP’s annual report for 2022 revealed that contact with the outside world is increasingly restricted due to overcrowding. Visits are shortened, delayed, and the visiting areas are overcrowded. The right to three one-hour visits per week and two hours of unsupervised visits per month is not upheld in most cases. Video visits are also limited by a lack of computers.

    i
    19/09/2023
    / Conseil central de surveillance pénitentiaire (CCSP)

Prisoners and visitors can meet without physical barriers

yes

Prisoners and visitors can sit around a table in the visiting room. Visits with plexiglass separation barriers (behind the glass) may be imposed if there is a possibility of an incident during a visit, in cases of disciplinary punishment, if there is a lack of respect for visiting rules, during placement in a specific security regime, or following a request from a visitor or a prisoner (Loi de principes, Article 60).

Prisoners are allowed to receive visits from their children or minor relatives

yes

Prisoners may request unsupervised visits with their children or grandchildren.
Children under age 16 must be accompanied by an adult. Minors who visit a parent in prison do not need permission from the other parent. If that parent notifies the prison that he/she is against it, the visit is denied. Minors who visit someone other than a parent must provide a parental permission.

The Relais Enfants-Parents organisation oversees the visits of children to their incarcerated parent in several facilities.1 Some organisations report that the visiting areas are unsuitable for children.2

  1. Centre d’action laïque, “Guide de la personne détenue”, November 2019, p. 12 (in French). ↩

  2. Concertation des associations actives en prison, Adeppi, Centre d’action laïque, I.Care, Ligue des familles, Sireas, “La loi de principes : quand la théorie juridique rencontre les réalités carcérales”, 2022, p. 15 (in French). ↩

Conjugal visits are allowed

yes

Convicted prisoners may have unsupervised visits with their partner. The visits take place in a separate area away from prison guards. It is possible to close the room’s door from the inside.

Required conditions for conjugal visits

family relation

Spouses, partners, legal or de facto partners may have unsupervised visits. Anyone who can prove that they “have a true relationship with the prisoner” for at least six months may request an unsupervised visit. Both the prisoner and visitor must complete a special form.

Unsupervised visits are permitted once a month, for a minimum of two hours. The rooms for unsupervised visits are furnished with a bed, toilet, and personal toiletries (gloves, toilet paper, soap, condoms, and sanitary napkins). The rooms for unsupervised visits must be easily accessible and discreet for the prisoner and their visitor. These rooms are often not very well-isolated from other cells.
A Human Rights League study showed a “measured use” and “a systematic non-use” of unsupervised visits. Relatives reported that rooms were unclean and that they felt judged by staff. It can take several months to get a visit permit, and visits are too short. “There is not much space when you have children; the seating is not always clean and is no doubt used for other activities” (testimony from Ittre prison for the HRL study).1

  1. Belgian League for Human Rights, “Rapport sur les droits des familles de détenu.e.s”, November 2019, pp. 53-54 (in French). ↩

Unsupervised visits are permitted once a month, for a minimum of two hours. The rooms for unsupervised visits are furnished with a bed, toilet, and personal toiletries (gloves, toilet paper, soap, condoms, and sanitary napkins). The rooms for unsupervised visits must be easily accessible and discreet for the prisoner and their visitor. These rooms are often not very well-isolated from other cells.
A Human Rights League study showed a “measured use” and “a systematic non-use” of unsupervised visits. Relatives reported that rooms were unclean and that they felt judged by staff. It can take several months to get a visit permit, and visits are too short. “There is not much space when you have children; the seating is not always clean and is no doubt used for other activities” (testimony from Ittre prison for the HRL study).1

  1. Belgian League for Human Rights, “Rapport sur les droits des familles de détenu.e.s”, November 2019, pp. 53-54 (in French). ↩

Requests for transfers to be close to the family are left up to the discretion of the prison administration. This latter considers the distance from the family home and the availability of places.
Overcrowding affects the maintenance of family ties.1 The study conducted by the Belgian League for Human Rights showed that close to 22% of people interviewed said they had to travel more than 50 kilometres to visit their loved ones.2
Prisoners may complain against a placement decision to the Directorate of the prison administration. The decision may be appealed to the Appeal Commission (Loi de principes, Articles 163 - 166).
At Forest (closed since November 2022), the prison officials transferred prisoners deemed “difficult”, without taking their family home location into account. In Saint-Gilles, officials place in solitary confinement those who refuse transfers. Andenne’s Monitoring Commission receives frequent complaints from prisoners whose transfer requests have been denied. The numerous transfer requests are due to the rampant violence in the facility.3

  1. Concertation des associations actives en prison, Adeppi, Centre d’action laïque, I.Care, Ligue des familles, Sireas, “La loi de principes : quand la théorie juridique rencontre les réalités carcérales”, 2022, p. 15 (in French). ↩

  2. Belgian League for Human Rights, “Rapport sur les droits des familles de détenu.e.s”, November 2019, p. 32 (in French). ↩

  3. Central Prison Monitoring Council, “Rapport annuel 2020”, 2021, pp. 53 and 58 (in French). ↩

Prisoners can get married outside of prison if they obtain a temporary leave. Otherwise, they can get married in the facility.1

  1. Centre d’action laïque, “Guide de la personne détenue”, November 2019, p. 13 (in French). ↩

Correspondence

Prisoners are allowed to exchange mail

yes

There is no limit on the letters prisoners can send or receive Loi de principes, Article 54).
Prisoners at Forest-Berkendael (closed since November 2022), Lantin and Saint-Gilles complain routinely of delays in sending and receiving mail.1

  1. Central Prison Monitoring Council, “Rapport annuel 2020”, 2021, p.39 (in French). ↩

Mail exchanged is subject to control

yes

Prison officials do not always check the prisoners’ correspondence. They reserve the right to open and read the letters in the prisoner’s absence for reasons of order and security. They may also decide not to send or return a prisoner’s mail. The prisoner is then informed of the decision in writing (Loi de principes, Article 56).

Prisoners are allowed to exchange mail in sealed envelopes

yes

Correspondence between prisoners and lawyers, the Federal Ombudsman, and the Monitoring Commissions is confidential.

Prisoners are allowed to receive parcels

yes

The prison director reserves the right to withhold parcels from prisoners for reasons of order and security (Loi de principes, Article 55). The list of items allowed varies among facilities.
The Central Prison Monitoring Council (CCSP) said that “parcels sent by family members do not always reach their recipients.1

  1. Central Prison Monitoring Council, “Rapport annuel 2020”, 2021, p. 37 (in French). ↩

  • Tulle’s public prosecutor announced on 7 December 2023 that a network of parcel deliveries via drone had been dismantled. This system, which had existed since autumn 2022, operated in over 15 prisons in France and Belgium. It centralised its orders via the social network Snapchat. Three people were placed in remand detention. These parcels contained narcotics, cigarettes and smartphones.

    i
    07/12/2023
    / Le Figaro

E-mail exchange is possible

no

Phone calls

Prisoners are allowed to make external phone calls

yes

In principle, phone calls are allowed daily, except in cases of partial or total withdrawal of telephone rights. The internal rules in each facility set the schedules and duration times for calls (Loi de principes, Article 64).

Prisoners are allowed to call

anyone

Prisoners can only make calls to a list of authorised numbers. Officials verify the call recipient and duration.
The prison director may, for reasons of order and security, record, consult, save, and give the numbers dialled by prisoners to judicial authorities (Loi de principes, Article 64).
Calls to toll-free phone numbers are not permitted.1

  1. Centre d’action laïque, “Guide de la personne détenue”, November 2019, p. 15 (in French). ↩

The phones are located

  • in the cells
  • in the corridors

Cells are equipped with phones in the newly-built facilities (Marche, Leuze and Beveren) and in older prisons that have been recently equipped (Jamioulx and Hasselt). In the other facilities, the telephones are installed in the corridors.1
Some organisations report that prisoners lack privacy when telephoning, whether in the cell or corridor.2

  1. Concertation des associations actives en prison, Adeppi, Centre d’action laïque, I.Care, Ligue des familles, Sireas, “La loi de principes : quand la théorie juridique rencontre les réalités carcérales”, 2022, p. 15 (in French). ↩

  2. Central Prison Monitoring Council, “Rapport annuel 2021”, 2022, p. 16 (in French). ↩

  • The CCSP’s annual report for 2022 highlighted a shortage of telephones, negatively affecting prisoners’ ability to maintain contact with the outside world. Phones, now shared in communal cells, are subject to the restrictions of any prisoner within the cell, meaning if one prisoner is restricted from phone use, the same restriction applies to their cellmate. Furthermore, a considerable number of phones are out of order, and the ability to make calls from the hallways is severely hindered.

    i
    19/09/2023
    / Conseil central de surveillance pénitentiaire (CCSP)

The cost of phone calls is in line with market prices

no

Communication expenses are covered by the prisoner. The cost of a national call fell between €0.85 to €0.11 per minute in 2019.

Phones calls are wire tapped

no

Prison officials can monitor or limit prisoners’ phone calls. They can also block certain numbers.

The use of cell phones is authorised

no

Telephones and laptops are prohibited. Only transition houses permit cell phones.

Prisoners have access to video calls with external contacts

yes

Since the COVID-19 pandemic started in 2020, prisoners have been able to communicate with families once a week for 20 minutes through video calls; this option does not replace traditional phone calls. In 2022, the CCSP reported that few prisoners used this service. It was essentially used by those incarcerated far from their families.

  • In 2022, the CCSP observed that at Saint-Hubert prison, visits via videoconference were complicated by insufficient resources and connection problems.

    i
    15/05/2023
    / Conseil central de surveillance pénitentiaire (CCSP)