In the Netherlands, prisons that are empty due to low crime rates become homes for refugees; those are waiting for their asylum status. The Netherlands has "closed" its 19 prisons in the last three years as prisons have flourished in countries like Belgium, England, Italy, America, and Venezuela.

In the country between 2006 and 2016, the number of criminals with the impact of the low crime rate was 20 to 10, and the authorities transformed empty prisons into shelters for refugees instead of closing them down.

In the Netherlands, where the crime rate dropped to 0.9 percent per year and judges were giving shorter punishments last year, 6 more prisons remained empty. The Netherland's low incarceration rates are largely thanks to relaxed drug laws; a focus on rehabilitation and an electronic ankle monitor system.

"Prisons are for criminals, being refugees is not a crime"

The conversion of old prisons to houses for refugees is also causing reactions. It is unacceptable for refugees to be put in prisons that are not suitable for human rights on the grounds that they have "no place to live". Some human rights organizations say that "prisons are the location of the criminals, that there is no crime of being a refugee, and that such an application should not be seen by these people who are inadvertently on the road and who are forced to move away from their homes."

The Dutch authorities say they will try to find other places if the method of converting prisons to houses is highly reactive.

Refugees who have to live in prisons for at least six months while they are waiting for asylum status in the country are free on entry and exit. (ILKHA)