Denmark rents 300 cells in Kosovo. The intent is to send people who have been convicted in Denmark who have to leave the country after being sentenced, anyway.
In this way, the Danish Ministry of Justice hopes to reduce the burden on prisons in her country. So it’s not about Danes, but about alleged foreigners declared persona non grata from countries outside the European Union. The Danish government will pay the Kosovo government about 210 million euros for the coming years in exchange for receiving 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 remaining, while Denmark has a surplus and a shortage of guards. Danish rules will apply in cells in Kosovo.
Cash
Today, Danish Minister of Justice Nick Hekrupp paid a visit to a prison in the town of Gilan where prisoners are housed. He said that “some things still need to change” but was generally satisfied.
The deal was heavily criticized by the government, including lawyers. “I am very concerned about this idea,” said attorney Christian Brad, a former attorney general. “The result may be that they did not get the rights they should have, for example in the field of human rights.”
According to Haykrupp, the prisoners will be treated the same way they are treated in Danish prisons. Denmark is not the first European country to want to transfer prisoners. In 2015, Norway had been accommodating 200 prisoners in the Netherlands for three years, and Denmark had previously planned to house prisoners in Romania.
strict immigration policy
Denmark has had a restrictive immigration policy for years. In 2018, for example, there were plans to receive a hundred unwanted strangers on a small Danish island. With this, the government wanted to send a signal that the country has the strictest asylum and immigration policies in Europe and discourage asylum seekers from staying in the country.
This year Parliament passed a law allowing asylum seekers to be accepted outside Europe. The country has come under a lot of criticism from the European Commission for this.
