Those who flee from prison are not punishable, those who help are (possibly)
They were hallucinatory images: an inmate escaping from Lantin prison through the window of a police car. Even more striking are the images posted by the inmate himself afterwards as he followed the news of his escape himself on TV, while laconically holding the handcuffs of yesteryear. Meanwhile, the Liege prosecutor's office reported that the man had been recaptured. The question remains: what are the consequences of the escape for the man? And above all, what consequences do not follow? We list it briefly.
The person fleeing is not criminally liable
Belgian law does not criminalize the escape of a prisoner. In other words, one can escape prison without being punished for it. After all, people cannot be blamed for wanting freedom and acting accordingly. This makes Belgium a special case in the European Union. As a result, Belgium will not extradite or surrender people for escaping from prison, even if this is punishable in the country of escape.
... but the helper is
The fact that the prisoner himself cannot be condemned for escaping from prison does not mean that the legislator encourages this behavior, quite the contrary. The guards and jailers who made the escape possible, even through negligence, can indeed be criminally restrained. Are also punishable: those who promote escape by threat or violence, even if the intended escape does not succeed.
Also punishable: the person who hides or helps to hide the escaped person from justice, when the escaped prisoner has been convicted of a crime. So hiding the person is only punishable if he or she has been convicted by the Assize Court. There is also an exception for close relatives: they cannot be punished if they tried to help their neighbor.
No consequences for the fugitive?
The fact that escape itself is not punishable does not mean that the fugitive inmate will not bear the consequences of his actions. After all, an escape is often accompanied by the commission of other crimes. Typical of these are threats, beatings and injuries, damage to movable property, or theft of government property. Thus, while the escape itself is not punishable, the same constellation of facts will give rise to punishment for the person who fled. The detainee who fled the Lantin prison will therefore be liable to additional prosecution, though not for the escape itself.
In addition, the Penal Code states very clearly that the statute of limitations on punishment begins to run again on the day of escape. Thus, the inmate will no longer be able to enjoy the passage of time from the beginning.
Finally, the fact that one has fled prison will have an impact on the assessment of the award of any sentencing modalities by the sentencing judge(s)/bank.
The question remains whether the legislature plans to criminalize escape. Several proposals along these lines have been made in the past. Yet these proposals never saw the light of day. Even with the proposal of the new Criminal Code, the legislature explicitly chooses not to punish non-violent escape.
