There has been a significant increase in the number of Dutch nationals that are incarcerated in Belgian prisons. According to figures from the Belgian Justice Ministry that form the basis of an article in Thursday’s addition of the daily ‘De Standaard’, there are currently more than 500 Dutch nationals doing time in Belgian gaols. This compares with 363 this time last year.
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More than 500 Dutch nationals doing time in Belgian prisons
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The number of Dutch nationals in Belgium’s prisons has almost doubled since 2018. This is due at least in part to the cracking of the Sky ECC messaging service’s encryption system. The Sky ECC messaging service was popular among criminals involved in the trade in illegal drugs.
In addition to this Dutch convicts are only very rarely transferred from Belgian prisons to jails in their home country. So far this year just 13 convicts have been sent back to The Netherlands. Last year this figure was 19. The reason for this is to some extent the more lax penal policy towards drug criminals in The Netherlands making the authorities here reluctant to transfer convicts.
The office of the Federal Justice Minister Vincent Vanquickenborne (Flemish liberal) told VRT News that furthermore "It is not so easy to transfer people. The Dutch and Belgian authorities and the prisoner must all agree. Belgium doesn’t want criminals convicted here to be punished less severely if they are transferred back as we want to come down hard on them in order to deter them.
One example of the difference in the severity of sentencing is the punishment given to people caught removing cocaine from containers in ports. In Belgium people convicted of this get three to five years. In The Netherlands sentences range from 3 to 5 months.