Sweden will send up to 600 convicted criminals to serve their sentences in an Estonian prison, reports „Reuters“, reports News.bg.
The measure is part of an agreement announced today by the Swedish government, which aims to ease serious overcrowding in the country's prisons.
From July 2026, Sweden will be able to transfer men over the age of 18 convicted of crimes such as murder and sexual assault to a prison in the Estonian city of Tartu. The agreement is subject to ratification by both countries' parliaments.
“The entire prison will be at Sweden's disposal”, said Swedish Justice Minister Gunnar Strömer. He said the country's prison system was under extreme pressure and urgently needed expansion.
Sweden will pay 8,500 euros per month for each transferred prisoner - a sum that is lower than the average cost of 11,500 euros per month for a prisoner in its home institutions.
Over the past decade, the country has experienced a sharp increase in gang-related violence, leading to harsher sentences and a growing number of convicts. As of May this year, there were about 7,300 prisoners in Swedish prisons, housed in just 5,235 cells - 141% of capacity. Including spare rooms, occupancy has reached 96%.
According to estimates by the Swedish Prison and Probation Service, the number of prisoners could reach 30,000 within the next decade.
Sweden is not the only country looking beyond its borders. Belgium and Norway are already using prison capacity in the Netherlands, and Denmark has concluded a controversial agreement with Kosovo, a move that has been sharply criticized by local human rights activists.