Swastikas etched onto lockers at Haren prison: investigation opened
Five swastikas have been etched onto lockers in the changing rooms of Haren prison, targeting an officer of Jewish faith. A complaint has been filed and an investigation is underway.
Antisemitism in the changing rooms of Brussels's Haren prison
Five swastikas have been etched onto lockers in the changing rooms of prison officers at Haren prison in Brussels on Friday and Saturday last. According to DHnet, the inscriptions are specifically targeting an officer of Jewish faith: the symbols were traced on his locker and those surrounding it.
"This is a very shocking situation. I don't know who could have done this, whether it was one or several individuals. The tags look very similar, so everything suggests it is the same person," said the officer concerned. He clarified that all prison staff as well as cleaning staff have access to the changing room, located in an annex of the facility. The absence of cameras in this area complicates the identification of the perpetrator or perpetrators.
Valérie Callebaut, spokesperson for the prison administration, confirmed the facts. "This was discovered on Sunday on a personal locker of an officer in the changing room. A communication will be sent to the entire prison to reiterate that this type of act is not tolerable. A complaint has been filed," she indicated. The management has since had the lockers in question cleaned, with the markings now considerably reduced.
Complaints have also been submitted to Unia, the Belgian institute for equal opportunities, as well as to the Belgian League Against Antisemitism. An internal investigation is running in parallel.
A context of increased antisemitic acts
The incident occurs in a climate of rising violence against the Jewish community, including within the civil service. The antisemitisme.be platform recorded 232 antisemitic acts in 2025, representing an increase of nearly 80 per cent compared to 2024 — an absolute record since the site's creation. Flanders and Brussels account for the majority of material acts, with 40 per cent and 28 per cent of reports respectively. These figures include online hate speech.
In response to this rise in antisemitic acts, exacerbated by the explosion at the synagogue in Liège, federal authorities have decided to deploy the military at synagogues and Jewish schools across the country.
Source: DHnet