Georges-Louis Bouchez, the president of the Belgian political party Mouvement Réformateur (MR), was a guest on Martin Buxant’s show, RTL Matin. He demanded that all foreign prisoners held in Belgian prisons serve their sentences in their respective countries of origin.
Bouchez believes in adopting a stricter stance towards drug users. However, how can we achieve this when there is significant prison overpopulation in Belgium? The president highlights the case of “non-Belgians,” stating, “It’s 40% of the inmates.” After verification, the general management of penitentiary establishments confirms that 43% of prisoners are foreigners.
“At some point, these individuals must return to their country and serve their prison sentences there,” continues Bouchez. However, it’s not as straightforward as it seems, as among the 43% of foreign prisoners, there are dual nationals and foreigners with residence permits.
He proposes signing agreements with third countries. “We propose to condition development cooperation and visa issuance on the conclusion of these agreements,” states Georges-Louis Bouchez. “If you fail to reach an agreement with us to repatriate your offenders, we will cease issuing visas for your international dignitaries, and you will no longer receive any funds from our country.”
“We provide financial assistance to these countries to foster development and support their populations, yet they leave their offenders for us to handle. Essentially, we’re paying twice, and this must end,” he explains. “We need to find ways to exert pressure on ourselves.”
In reality, repatriations of detainees are already underway. There were 1,156 repatriations in 2020, 1,299 in 2021, 1,511 in 2022, and 1,428 last year, accounting for more than half of all repatriations. The repatriated detainees primarily consist of Albanians, Romanians, Dutch, Moroccans, Algerians, and French nationals.
Source: RTL
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Author: Amy Mek
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