In Norway, prisoners take part in TV debates

A pre-election TV debate in Norway was held in a jail, in front of an audience of prisoners and guards. Gwladys Fouché asks if this could ever happen in the UK

“It was a stunning political debate that would be hard to imagine in Britain. But it was not so shocking in Norway, where a general election is taking place on Monday,” writes Fouché.

“The topic was crime policy and – so far so normal – it featured a panel of politicians discussing the best ways to reduce crime. But the live TV show was set inside a high security prison, the audience consisted exclusively of guards and prisoners, with one inmate, Bjørnar Dahl, taking part in the panel alongside the justice minister and the deputy leader of the main opposition party.”

Read the full article on: Guardian.co.uk

Read more (in Norwegian) and see images and video from the debate on: Nrk.no