Within 20 kilometers north of Amsterdam in the center of the industrial zone near the city of Zaandam is a floating prison - the newest prison in the Netherlands. It stands in the midst of Dutch waters. However, the word "standing" is not quite suitable in this case, but rather, it is washed away. These prison inmates are not criminal criminals, they are all illegal immigrants, guilty, as the Dutch say, in administrative violations.
The construction of new prisons has solved the problem of the distribution and protection of illegal immigrants from criminal elements, whose numbers in the Netherlands and without illegal immigrants are outside the scale. To sit in prison for a short period of up to 6 months, for example, inmates must be "queued up", and they are asked what day is most convenient for them to come to serve their punishment.
But returned to the floating prison. This is a view from the water side ...
And this is from the beach.
The building is built on two concrete platforms, on land on the right there are facilities for sports: soccer and basketball.
Inside this metal dome there is a sports field.
To get to the prison building, you have to go through a small bridge. (I really want to write: "We have to cross the border illegally")
On both sides of the corridor inside the building there is a camera, all designed for two people. The atmosphere is simple: a two-story bed, a table with chairs, a refrigerator, a TV and an automatic coffee machine. Each cell has a separate toilet and shower.
There is also a public area where you can play table and ping-pong soccer and call from the telephone booth. In prison, however, a rather tight schedule that day: cells cannot leave from 5 pm to 8 am.
The maximum number of prisoners who can be held in prison is 576 people, they can be imprisoned for up to 6-9 months. During this time, those who did not have documents were identified and offered to return voluntarily at home, while they were given documents, tickets and even the money needed. Up to 20% of prisoners agree with this condition, and the rest are on the road until the next document verification.
It must be said that the Dutch authorities did not specifically arrest illegal immigrants. So, they were accidentally found in routine document verification, for example.
Here, maybe, that's all. Finally, photograph all the prison places above. The double dome of the sports field is clearly visible, and in the center of the picture is a prison building standing on water.