Denmark to rent 300 cells in Kosovo. The intention is that people convicted in Denmark who have to leave the country after their sentence are sent there anyway.
The Danish Ministry of Justice hopes in this way to relieve the burden on prisons in its own country. It is therefore not about Danes, but about so-called aliens declared undesirable from countries outside the EU. The Danish government will pay the Kosovar government about 210 million euros for the coming years for the reception of the prisoners. The government is also investing in other projects in the country, such as renewable energy.
The two governments signed a political letter of intent on Monday for a five-year partnership. Kosovo, one of the poorest countries in Europe, has about 700 to 800 cells left, while Denmark has a surplus and a shortage of guards. Danish rules would apply in the cells in Kosovo.
Criticism
Nick Haekkerup, the Danish Minister of Justice, paid a visit today to the prison in the town of Gjilan where the prisoners are housed. He said that “some things still need to change” but that he is generally satisfied.
The deal came under considerable criticism from the government, including lawyers. “I am deeply concerned about this idea,” said attorney Kristian Braad, a former prosecutor. “The consequence may be that they do not get the rights they should be, for example in the field of human rights.”
According to Haekkerup, however, the prisoners will be treated in the same way as in Danish prisons. Denmark is not the first European country to want to relocate prisoners. In 2015, Norway housed 200 prisoners in the Netherlands for three years and Denmark had previously had plans to house prisoners in Romania.
Strict migration policy
Denmark has had a restrictive migration policy for years. In 2018, for example, there were plans to receive a hundred unwanted aliens in a tiny Danish island. With this, the government wanted to send a signal that the country has the strictest asylum and migration policy in Europe and to discourage asylum seekers from staying in the country.
This year, parliament passed a law that makes it possible to receive asylum seekers outside Europe. The country came under a lot of criticism from the European Commission for this.
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