Bastøy Prison
Coordinates: 59°22′48.55″N 10°31′29.65″E / 59.3801528°N 10.5249028°E Bastøy Prison (Norwegian: Bastøy landsfengsel) is a minimum-security prison located on Bastøy Island, Norway, about 75 kilometers (46 mi) south of Oslo. The facility is located on a 2.6 square kilometer (1 sq mi) island and hosts 115 inmates. Øyvind Alnæs, governor of the prison, leads a staff of 69 prison employees. Of this staff, only five employees remain on the island overnight.[1] The facility is about a one hour commuting distance from Oslo.[2]
Once a prison colony for young boys, the facility now is trying to become "the first ecological prison in the world."[1] Inmates are housed in wooden cottages and work the prison farm.[3] During their free time, inmates have access to horseback riding, fishing, tennis, and cross-country skiing.[1][4]
The prison colony was featured in the DVD extras for Michael Moore's 2007 documentary Sicko. In 2010, both a documentary about the island by Michel Kapteijns was released[5] and King of Devil's Island a Norwegian film directed by Marius Holst.[6]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Kilner, James (23 March 2006). "Break the law and live by a beach". Reuters. http://www.enn.com/top_stories/article/3950.
- ^ Vice staff. "Inside Norway's progressive prison system." CNN. August 3, 2011. Retrieved on October 6, 2011.
- ^ Shishkin, Philip. "Norway's convicts take a number, line up for prison", Chicago Sun-Times, June 8, 2003.
- ^ Hundley, Tom. "Norwegian Jails Break Concept Of Hard Time", Chicago Tribune, October 19, 2003.
- ^ Bastoy the Movie - documentary by Michel Kapteijns Retrieved 2 February 2010
- ^ Kongen av Bastøy (King of Devil's Island) - film by Marius Holst Retrieved 2 February 2010
[edit] External links
- Bastoy Prison website http://www.statsbygg.no/prosjekter/prosjektkatalog/585_bastoy/html/foto/f_01.html (Norwegian)
- Bastoy Prison Photos http://www.jus.uio.no/ikrs/ekskursjon/fengslet/talking_about_pictures.html
- Deutsche Welle article
