An inmate of Antwerp prison has been taken to hospital seriously injured after being abused by fellow inmates in his cell for several days VRT NWS has learned. How the torture could continue for so long without anyone intervening is unclear. The public prosecutor's office has launched an investigation.
It's alleged that five fellow inmates tortured the prisoner in his cell for 3 days. He is said to have suffered severe burns and to have been hospitalised in a critical condition.
The Antwerp prosecutor's office confirmed that an investigation into serious violence has been launched. The victim's cellmates were detained for questioning after the events. Forensic technicians and a police doctor are on the case.
It is not yet clear how the assault could go on for so long without anybody intervening. The victim was allegedly instructed to pretend to be asleep when guards entered the cell.
The torture was filmed and forwarded via social media app Snapchat. Joris van der Aa, crime journalist at daily Gazet van Antwerpen, has seen the footage.
"You see a man sitting in a chair trembling with his eyes closed and his nose bleeding. A sandwich of excrement was shoved into his mouth and he had to admit he had done all sorts of wrong things. Then he was anally raped with a broomstick while screaming in pain," Van Der Aa explains.
"These are disgusting images," Van Der Aa continues. "Especially the pleasure that his cellmates take in making him suffer is really shocking."
Unions too react with shock
"Yesterday we were confronted with a situation that defies all belief. It’s a direct consequence of what we as unions have been complaining about for years: prison overcrowding and understaffing has resulted in these gruesome scenes".