The arrest of the Minister of Justice was filmed as part of the program Straight to jail (straight to prison), broadcast by the Play4 channel.
Kneeling, hands on the neck, the minister was handcuffed and boarded a secure bus on board which were the other participants of the show. All are industry professionals. There is thus a lawyer, an assize judge, a prison guard, an investigating judge and a prison director. Six participants therefore, who agreed to be imprisoned for a period of four days.
During his incarceration, Vincent Van Quickenborne in turn shared a cell with three former inmates who served between 10 and 20 years in prison. In particular, we witness their discussions on the experience of these former prisoners and on their often difficult childhood. The minister must also participate in daily tasks, such as the distribution of meals or the cleaning of sheets. Prison guards also come to pick him up to place him in solitary confinement, a cell where he will spend a total of no less than 9 hours, the time for him to read a book of some 400 pages. Other participants will live this experience much less well. This is the case ofAnd Janssensdirector of the Antwerp prison: “Isolation doesn’t work for me, not at all. But it’s also me, as a prison director, who puts people in jail every day. And I myself can’t stay here for five minutes. I’m in (state of) shock after five minutes“.