Prague, Nov 16 (CTK) – The first 45 refugees arrived in the Balková refugee camp from the former prison in Drahonice on Monday, Kiril Christov, from the Czech Interior Ministry, told a regional supplement of Wednesday’s issue of daily Mlada fronta Dnes (MfD).
The Balková camp, west Bohemia, was opened on November 14, he said, adding that the transport from Drahonice, north Bohemia, proceeded smoothly.
The former Drahonice prison was temporarily turned into a centre for up to 240 refugees, but it will be returned to the Prison Service. No refugee is staying in Drahonice anymore.
Christov said there are 200 beds in Balkova that will be a camp for single male refugees.
The refugees are not allowed to leave the camp situated in a valley in the middle of a forest. It is one of four Czech detention facilities for illegal migrants, MfD writes.
At present, the total number of inmates of Czech refugee camps is only 64.
Nine refugees are staying in Bela pod Bezdezem, central Bohemia, in which 246 can stay, and ten are in Vysni Lhoty, north Moravia, in which up to 544 can stay.
“The number of refugees has been falling in our country,” Czech immigration office spokeswoman Katerina Rendlova told the paper.
On Monday, one illegal migrant was detained in Czech territory.
The migrant wave culminated last year, however, the Czech Republic was not flooded by asylum seekers, unlike many other European countries. In 2015, the Czech immigration office detained 8563 people who stayed illegally in the country.
