A cell of just nine square metres with no toilet can hold up to three prisoners. Sometimes, one of them has to sleep on the floor due to a lack of space. This is common in Belgium, a country that has been struggling with serious prison overcrowding for years, as reported by the non-profit association 9m².
The Forest prison in Brussels, which closed theee years ago, is an example of these conditions. The voices of those who had to survive here can still be heard. One of them is Jean-Luc Mahy, a former prisoner who earned a degree during more than 18 years behind bars and who also thought about taking his own life several times because of the harsh conditions.
