Brussels, 13/12/2012 (Agence Europe) - In a report published on Thursday 13 December, a Council of Europe press release indicated that its Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) had called on the Belgian authorities to rethink their prisons policy and “take urgent and decisive measures” to tackle persistent problems such as overcrowding and the failure to properly manage recurring strikes by prison staff. This report follows an ad-hoc visit to Belgium by the CPT in April 2012. The CPT delegation noted, for example, that up to 750 male prisoners were detained at the Forest prison despite its official capacity of 405 places. “Some detainees had only buckets for toilets, emptied twice a day, while others slept on mattresses on the floor. The lack of activities offered in certain institutions also led to violence, promiscuity and idleness among prisoners”. The report notes that the poor conditions in several Belgian prisons have contributed to a series of strikes among prison staff, often with serious consequences. (SP/transl.fl)