Belgium’s court and tribunals service last week published an open letter penned by one of the 17 investigating judges in Antwerp, who says “we are no longer able to protect our citizens and ourselves”.

The judge, who has not been named, says they spent four months in a safe house because of threats related to their work, while many of their colleagues live under permanent police protection.

“Under those circumstances, no government contacts us, actively offers support, compensation, shelter for family and colleagues, insurance for damages.

“Afterwards, you have to pick up where you left off. It just comes with the job, my government seems to say. Imagine that in the private sector.”

The letter calls for reforms to allow judges to work anonymously, the establishment of a government point of contact and protocol for threatened judges, the introduction of insurance for judges and their families, and changes to hide judges’ addresses in national databases.

It also calls for more work to crack down on access to mobile phones in prisons, which the letter says criminals are using to direct attacks from behind bars.

The letter states: “This is not a complaint, nor are we asking for applause or praise. We are asking for a government that takes responsibility for protecting its own foundations.

“The rule of law is not an abstract concept. It consists of people — magistrates, police officers, prison guards — who do their work with conviction, but who deserve a government that supports them.

“We urge you to make this fight a structural priority. Not temporary, not project-based, but sustainable and systemic.

“Because the question isn’t whether the rule of law is under threat — it already is. The question is how our state will defend itself.”