Dozens of judges and prosecutors locked up

... in Belgium. And they did it themselves, voluntarily.

In Belgium, 55 lawyers are being locked up for a short experiment. Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne said: "This will undoubtedly help them to assess whether deprivation of liberty is the best solution for a person who has committed a mistake."

Criminal judges, prosecutors and legal trainees are among those taking part in the trial. According to the Ministry of Justice, they voluntarily allowed themselves to be locked up on Saturday morning and will spend one and a half days in the new prison in the Brussels district of Haren.

They will be treated like normal prisoners, the Belga news agency reported. For example, they would not be allowed to use their mobile phones. They would have to work in the kitchen and laundry, among other things, and would be allowed to receive family visitors.

At 10 p.m. the lights would be switched off. Those who wanted to stop the experiment could do so and only had to say the word "Terminus", RTBF reported.

The prison has space for almost 1200 inmates. According to Belga, the complex is a kind of prison village. It contains smaller buildings and housing units, each with about 30 places.

The facility is new and not yet occupied. Minister Quickenborne said the test would allow the guards to prepare for the opening.

Cinquante-cinq magistrats enfermés à la prison de Haren dans le cadre d’un tes´