The Local: Volunteers check out the new Zurich West prison in Zurich, Switzerland
Image: SWI swissinfo.ch – English / YouTube
In Switzerland, they decided to use the help of volunteers to test the new Zurich West prison in the canton of Zurich. The Local writes about it.
Correctional inmates in the region had previously complained about the conditions of their detention, the authorities have responded and built a new prison. In order not to disappoint convicted felons, the government began assembling a focus group of volunteers to test Zurich West. However, there were even too many applicants – their number was three times the capacity of the prison.
According to the conditions, the volunteers will spend three days in prison. Before the “imprisonment”, they will have to hand over all their devices, a strip search will take place at will. Volunteers will be offered regular, halal and vegetarian menus for food. The administration of Zurich West asked not to rely on the conditions of a five-star hotel and said that volunteers could leave the test ahead of schedule if they become uncomfortable.
On November 16 in Belarus, former prisoners complained about torture at the Offenders Isolation Center (TsIP) at Akrestsina in Minsk. According to one of the former prisoners, the prison staff poured two buckets of bleach into the cell and dumped the women's personal belongings on the floor.
