A 38-year-old man detained at Huy prison appeared before the Huy criminal court accused of picking up a parcel of cannabis thrown over the prison walls during his daily walk in the yard.[1][2] He said that when he saw the parcels falling from the sky he took one and hid it as best he could.[1] He said he carried the parcel with him to a visit so that guards would not find it in their search, and was caught with it.[1]

The defendant had been convicted several times before, including for theft, and has been dependent on several kinds of drugs for many years.[1] He told the court that drugs come over the prison walls every day.[1][2] After a spell in Saint-Hubert prison he told the judge he wanted to turn his life around and said he had begun steps to do so, including a horticulture course in prison.[1]

His lawyer asked for a community service sentence, which he argued would help his client reintegrate into society, and the deputy prosecutor agreed.[1][2] The court is due to give its judgment on 3 December.[1][2] The man said he had stopped using cocaine and now smokes only tobacco, and that he wants housing when he leaves prison to live with his four children.[1] If the judge chooses community service, he could be released within a few months of another sentence after applying for an electronic bracelet.[1]