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Totally 450 inmates in Belgian prisons possibly bear extremist ideas: report

Xinhua, December 16, 2016 Adjust font size:

A total of 450 inmates in Belgian prisons have possibly adopted extremist ideas, local media reported on Friday.

According to a report published by the Flemish newspaper De Tijd, the figures were released by Belgian Justice Minister Koen Geens, who did not elaborate on how many radicalisation cases had been confirmed.

"The radicalisation process is simply not an exact science," said Geens, adding that prison guards had been receiving special trainings for detecting signs of possible radicalisation.

He stressed that psychosocial workers and religion consultants had also been involved to make reliable estimates.

About 10,400 people are currently held in prisons in Belgium, which means one in 23 prisoners has a profile of possible extremist links.

Moreover, 115 people were imprisoned due to offences linked to terrorism, the report said.

According to the minister, the problem in Belgian prisons really escalated in late 2014 and early 2015. A special unit was set up in 2015 to keep an close eye on prisoners in regard to this issue. Endit