2023-08-04 14:26:25
The rat infestation at Saint-Gilles prison has still not been eradicated, according to several videos obtained by Sudpresse et The newspapaer Friday. These images show rats wandering around the prison yard as well as in the cells. The Central Prison System Supervisory Board (CCSP) recognizes the problem and says that the measures put in place so far to eliminate the rats have not yet borne fruit.
The rat infestation has been going on for quite some time already. In 2022, the CCSP wrote in its annual report that the environment of the prison of Saint-Gilles was “morbid” and that “certain spaces of the penitentiary institution are so dirty that one only believes it following having seen with his own eyes”. In 2019, an inmate testified to BRUZZclaiming that “rats walk on your body at night.”
The infestation is believed to be due to inmates throwing garbage and leftover food through cell bars, which attracts rats. “Saint-Gilles is a dilapidated prison. The problem is deep and concerns the dirt in the courtyards and between the cells and the outer wall,” said Ruben Bruynooghe, member of the Saint-Gilles prison surveillance committee.
The inmates themselves are responsible for cleaning and hygiene of the prison cells and courtyards, but there would not be enough equipment available to carry out this task properly. According to Mr. Bruynooghe, it would indeed be necessary to have better equipment, but that would not be enough to solve the problem. “Some places can only be cleaned from the outside of the cells. That is why we entrusted this task to a company outside the prison.”
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