Minister of Justice Guðrún Hafsteinsdóttir supports exploring agreements with other countries to house foreign nationals sentenced to prison. Over the years, limited funding has prevented prison facilities from keeping up with population growth and increasing sentences, resulting in ongoing waiting lists in the Icelandic prison system.
Reasonable to explore options
In a written response to a query from Mbl.is, Minister of Justice Guðrún Hafsteinsdóttir stated that it was reasonable to explore agreements with other countries to house foreign nationals who have been sentenced to prison in Iceland. In 2023, 28% of those serving sentences in Iceland were foreign nationals, the highest percentage recorded (or 38 individuals out of 137).
“The Ministry of Justice has not specifically considered negotiating with other countries to house prisoners with foreign citizenship, and no cost analysis has been conducted on such a measure so far,” Guðrún noted. “However, I believe it is reasonable to explore such options, as it is clear that more and more countries are looking into this possibility, given the increasing pressure on prison systems worldwide. This is especially relevant in cases of prisoners who came to Iceland solely to commit crimes and have no other ties to the country,” Guðrún wrote.
Read More: In Focus (Prisons in Iceland)
As noted by Mbl.is, the Telegraph recently reported that Estonia is ready to offer other European countries the opportunity to negotiate for the housing of prisoners, as about half of Estonia’s prison capacity is unused. The UK’s Minister of Justice is exploring this option as prisons in Britain are now full.
Questions raised
In a blog on renting foreign prison places for UK prisoners, published in October of last year, Deputy Director of the Prison Reform Trust Mark Day raised a number of questions relating to the issue, among them, what laws and policies apply to individuals held in foreign prisons and how will complaints from these prisoners be handled? The blog also warned of an accountability gap and legal vacuum, which could leave prisoners vulnerable to potential ill-treatment.
The article noted that, in the past decade, both Norway and Belgium had rented prison places in the Netherlands to handle overcrowding and limited capacity problems. “The experiment in both countries had decidedly mixed results. Ultimately, neither Norway nor Belgium extended their contracts with the Netherlands. The Norwegian scheme ran for three years from 2015–2018 and the arrangements in Belgium for seven years from 2009–2016.”
The article further noted that the UK government could choose to follow the Norwegian and Belgium example by seeking to house primarily foreign national prisoners in a neighbouring state, however, this was not without its issues:
“As the experience of these countries demonstrates, the path to such an agreement is not straightforward. Both Norway and Belgium pushed to primarily house their foreign national prisoners in the Netherlands. In the case of Norway, the Netherlands pushed back and agreed to house a ‘representative’ Norwegian population. In the case of Belgium, the population held in the Netherlands was 40% foreign national.”
Scandinavian model under threat?
In an interview with Mbl.is this summer, Páll Winkel, outgoing Director-General of Iceland’s Prison and Probation Administration, observed that the Scandinavian prison model – which focuses on rehabilitation rather than punishment – was under threat due to the impact of organised crime and increasing violence.
As noted in a recent In Focus article, Iceland has four prisons. Two are closed prisons, and the other two are open prisons without fences or locked cells. While most prisoners begin their sentences in a closed prison, Iceland’s prison system permits them to move to an open prison later on, provided they demonstrate good behaviour. Many inmates then transition to the halfway house Vernd, and in some cases, they can complete the remainder of their sentence at home under electronic ankle tag monitoring.
Prison numbers expected to rise
Páll also noted that the number of prisoners is expected to rise in the coming years. According to Mbl.is, the average waiting time for serving a sentence is one year and 10 months, with over 300 people on the waiting list for imprisonment. The percentage of foreign nationals serving sentences in Iceland reached its highest level last year, according to the Icelandic Prison Service.
“In 2023, 137 people served sentences in Iceland, of which 28%, or 38 prisoners, were foreigners. In 2019, this figure was 19%, and it remained relatively unchanged until last year. Additionally, 75% of those in pretrial detention in Iceland last year were foreign nationals,” Mbl.is notes.
“Over the years, due to a lack of funding, prison facilities have not kept pace with population growth and the rise in the number of sentences, leading to persistent waiting lists within the Icelandic prison system. Many convicted criminals in Iceland end up waiting a significant time before they can start serving their sentences. During this waiting period, they are not under any form of custody or constraints. In November 2022, it was reported that some 60 sentences had expired over the preceding three years due to a lack of available spots in prisons. Roughly 300 people (of which 279 were men) were on prison waiting lists at the time. Opposition MPs argued this was an unacceptable situation, both for victims and perpetrators.” – In Focus (Iceland Review)
Challenges not unique
In her interview with Mbl.is, Guðrún emphasised the importance of ensuring that Iceland’s justice system aligns with the best international standards and trends to address the challenges faced by the penal system.
“Our challenges in the penal system are not unique; countries we often compare ourselves to, such as Denmark and the UK, are grappling with similar issues regarding overcrowded prisons. They see this solution as a realistic option to solve the problem,” Guðrún stated.
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