Prison of Huy

Huy prison is one of the smaller institutions in the country. It was built between 1867 and 1871 on a former property of the Capuchin Friars Minor . It opened in 1871 and the building initially housed 42 men and 18 women .

On December 31, 1943, an armed commando of about 20 resistance members raided the site to free resistance members, including seven death row inmates who would be executed by the German occupiers the following day. After the Second World War, numerous political offenders, including collaborators and prisoners of war, were imprisoned in the prison.

From 1955 to 1975, the prison functioned as an observation center to move delinquents to the Marneffe penitentiary school center. This happened in the context of the idea of a model prison with an open regime . The detainees stayed in Huy with a view to being transferred to the institution in Marneffe that was suitable for their condition.

Currently (2023), Huy prison functions as a detention and punishment house and accommodates both pre-trial detainees and convicted prisoners. It is a small-scale building in a T-shape that connects to a star figure with three arms that correspond to the different corridors. The cellular complex is open on three levels and has a capacity of 63 places. The cells are constructed as single cells, but often house two detainees. There are three three-person cells and two four-person cells.

Willem Vandenameele