Denmark signs agreement to bring 300 prisoners to Kosovo in 2023

Denmark signed an agreement with Kosovo on Wednesday (April 27th) to bring 300 prisoners to Kosovo in an effort to reduce overcrowding in Denmark prisons.

The two countries initially agreed in December that the Scandinavian country will rent 300 prison cells for an annual 15m-euro fee, the REL reports.

“We have now signed an agreement that will ensure the best capacity in our crowded prisons and ease the pressure on our prison officers,”, Denmark's Justice Minister Nick Haekkerup said in a statement.

The prisoners will be sent to a prison in the town of Gjilan, early in 2023.

Foreign prisoners will be deported after the punishment.

With this agreement, Denmark also sends a clear signal to foreigners from third-party countries who have been sentenced to expulsion. Your future is not in Denmark and therefore you will not carry out your sentence here”, Haekkerup said.

By 2020, about 350 prisoners were to be deported to Denmark after the end of their prison sentence in Danish.

Denmark's prison population increased by almost 20 percent since 2015 to reach more than 4,000 people imprisoned early in 2021, placing the rate of prison capacity above 100 percent, according to official data.

At the same time, the number of guards dropped by 18 percent.

It is not the first time Denmark, which has one of Europe's worst immigration positions, plans to transfer foreign management across the European Union's borders.

In June, the country adopted a law allowing the opening of waiting centres for asylum seekers outside Europe, where applicants would live until their case is processed.

Kosovo and Denmark signed a letter of approval on December 20th, under which 300 Kosovo prison cells will be provided in the state exploitation of Denmark.

For this lending, according to the letter of approval, Kosovo is expected to benefit 210m euros over the next decade.

At the time, Kosovo Justice Minister Albulen Haxhiu had said signing the cards is only the first step towards reaching an agreement, which then must be ratified in the Kosovo Assembly with two-thirds of the vote.

According to the Kosovo Justice Ministry, the “convicts, who will be transferred [from Denmark] to Kosovo, will not be at high risk”.

Kosovo had 1,642 prisoners in 2020, 97 percent of its capacity respectively, according to London University's World Prisons Report.