Estonia Leases Its Half-Empty Prison to Sweden. There is space for 600 prisoners

Estonian Minister of Justice and Digital Liisa Pakosta and Director General of the Swedish Prison Service Rikard Jermsten signed a memorandum of cooperation that sets out the practical conditions for housing Swedish prisoners in Tartu Prison. This concerns, among other things, prison clothing, cell conditions, information channels, use of electricity and the use of tobacco-free nicotine products.

According to Liisa Pakosta, the cooperation between Estonia and Sweden is not just about renting prison places, but practical cooperation between two NATO allies. “Sweden is short of prison places and Estonia has a modern prison that it is not reasonable to keep empty. For Estonia, this means new, well-paid jobs in internal security, more trained people and a stronger prison service,” said Pakosta.

“The agreement has been concluded responsibly and by mitigating known risks. The agreement also includes the possibility of terminating the cooperation if any risk materializes. Swedish prisoners will only be brought to Estonia to serve their sentences and will not be released here. The number of visitors is very limited and everyone will undergo a background check,” said Pakosta.

According to Rait Kuuse, the head of the Estonian prison service, these are agreements on the details necessary for the smooth running of the cooperation. “The foreign agreement provides a general framework for our cooperation, the memorandum helps to agree on the details of organizing everyday life. This is a unique cooperation in the world, where Swedish prisoners are subject to Estonian law and Estonian officials work in the prison. Therefore, it is necessary for the cooperation to be clear, transparent and unambiguously understandable to all parties,” said Kuuse.

The costs related to the Swedish prisoners will be covered by Sweden, and the placement of the prisoners will be preceded by close cooperation and assessment on both sides so that the risks are mitigated in the best possible way. The Swedish prisoners will serve their sentence in the closed territory of Tartu Prison and will not be granted a city permit. Before their release, they will be returned to Sweden.

According to the agreement, the rental prison will operate according to the rules of the Tartu Prison, but the Swedish prisoners will wear the Swedish prison uniform in Tartu Prison and will be guaranteed access to Swedish information channels. In addition, they will be guaranteed a television in their cell and the use of electricity even at night. Tartu Prison will remain tobacco-free: cigarettes and other tobacco products are prohibited, but Swedish prisoners will be provided with tobacco-free nicotine pads and nicotine patches from the prison's online store.

The admission of foreign prisoners and the filling of the prison will be carried out gradually. The first Swedish prisoners will arrive at Tartu Prison in mid-August. By the end of the year, up to 200 foreign prisoners can be held in Tartu Prison. Over the next year, their number will gradually increase to the 600 agreed in the contract.

Prison rent helps Estonia to use Tartu Prison sensibly in a situation where the number of Estonian prisoners has decreased. The project keeps prison infrastructure, which is important for internal security, operational, creates over 250 jobs in South Estonia, and helps to maintain the skills and experience of prison staff, which would be difficult to replace later. All costs related to Swedish prisoners will be covered by the Swedish state, which means that the Estonian taxpayer will not be responsible for organizing their imprisonment.