The one dragged older woman from venture, the other made hostage in scene: men trying to escape from Ghent prison have a strong criminal record (Ghent)
The spectacular escape attempt of two prisoners from the prison in Ghent on Sunday night continues to be hinding. They first made a hole in their cell wall. A plan that they have been doing for weeks according to sources. They also managed to hide the gap.
To escape, the two cell mates had to hit two high walls. They had made a kind of ladder for that. With a screwdriver they would have taken part of their bunk beds loose. They would also have used sheets to escape. The first wall they hit quickly, but their attempt ended in the meter -high outside wall.
One prisoner was then on the homemade ladder. It fell apart and he made a spectacular fall of a few meters. He was taken to the hospital injured. It appears to be the 30-year-old D.. The Russian was sentenced to forty months in prison in March. In November last year he dragged an older woman (79) out of her car near the Citadelpark.
D. was sentenced in March to 40 months in prison after a carjacking at the Citadelpark. – © LMD
« The woman fell, but was still stuck by her belt. He then left and she was dragged for a moment. She eventually fell on the paving stones with her head, » it sounded in the Ghent court. D. then fled to Denderleeuw, and picked a second car there. The Carjacker already had a serious penalty past, with convictions in France and Belgium.
His lawyer, Fien Deschepper, tried clearly in court that he had no easy youth. « At the age of nineteen he came into contact with crime. He didn’t want to hurt anyone, but he was in panic and under the influence of drugs. My client just wanted to flee. » The lawyer could not respond to the facts now.
The cell mate of D. also appears to have a solid penalty history. The 50-year-old S. was sentenced in July to four years in prison for the hostage of an employee of the Forensic Psychiatric Center (FPC) in Ghent. In January 2020, he was convicted in the Antwerp court for a similar incident, also a hostage in a psychiatric center.
S. during the handling of his case last year in July in the Ghent court. – © LMD
In the court, S. stated that he was not satisfied with his stay and wanted to go to prison. He had been in the FPC for two years at the time of the incident, where he was interned for criminal offenses. « He wanted to raise an untenable situation for him, » said his lawyer, Johan Vermeersch in court. « He has been wrong and realizes that too. »
Safety screening
To make his point clear, the man decided to put a hostage in scene. He edited a spoon into a sharp object and put it against the throat of an employee. Other caring staff tried to intervene, but also shared in the strokes. S. S. has been in prison since the facts. S. his new lawyer Sarah Zaman did not want to respond on Tuesday.
After the escape attempt, an extensive safety screening was held on Monday. In the meantime, the prison system is investigating the facts. « No comments are given about that, » said spokeswoman Kathleen van de Vijver earlier.
