Kosovo preparing to receive 300 prisoners from Denmark?

(Patria) - Plans are underway at a prison in eastern Kosovo to remove all domestic prisoners and make space for foreign inmates who will be transferred by air from Denmark, located more than 2,000 kilometers away, Reuters reported.

Denmark is expected to send 300 prisoners to this Balkan country, which is a first step for Kosovo and a move that Danish human rights experts have sharply criticized.

The Kosovo Prison Service will renovate the prison in Gjilan according to Danish standards over the next two years before receiving convicts from non-EU countries, who were supposed to be deported from Denmark after serving their sentences. Half of the prisoners have not been confirmed.

The prison building itself does not raise human rights concerns, but the decision to house prisoners in Kosovo does, said Therese Rytter, legal director of the Danish human rights organization Dignity.

“In the past, there have been credible allegations of abuse... That doesn't mean it will happen, but there is definitely an increased risk compared to if they were in a Danish prison.”

The US State Department, in its 2023 report, stated that although prisons in Kosovo meet some international standards, violence among inmates, corruption, and inadequate treatment of prisoners with mental disabilities still exist.

The UN Committee Against Torture stated in its December 2023 report that it is concerned about prisoners' access to healthcare and family visits.
The Kosovo parliament approved an agreement last Thursday for which wealthy

Denmark says it will help it cope with overcrowded prisons and a shortage of prison guards. In return, Kosovo, one of Europe's poorest countries, will receive 210 million euros over the next ten years.

No individuals convicted on terrorism charges or serving life sentences will be transferred to Gjilan, the Danish Ministry of Justice and Ismail Dibrani, head of Kosovo prisons, announced.

“Those individuals who will arrive can be easily managed by our system,” Dibrani said.

A Danish prison governor will manage the facility together with the local director, while all guards will be local. Kosovo prison guards will undergo training from Danish authorities to ensure that the treatment of prisoners is in line with Danish and international human rights standards, the Danish Ministry of Justice announced.

But Danish human rights experts are not convinced.

“A two-month course does not change behavior,” Rytter said.

The first convicts are expected to be transferred between 21 and 25 months after the start of the prison reconstruction, which begins in a few weeks, according to the Danish Ministry of Justice.