Estonian Justice and Digital Minister Liisa Pakosta and Swedish Justice Minister Gunnar Stremmer have signed an agreement on the lease of an Estonian prison to hold Swedish prisoners, ERR and Interfax report.
The prison in question is a prison in the city of Tartu, built in 2000 and designed for 933 people. According to the agreement, Estonia will provide Sweden with 400 cells for five years to hold about 600 prisoners in single and double cells.
The prisoners will be selected by representatives of the security authorities of the two countries. Those who are not security threats, are not connected to organised crime and do not have mental disorders will be transferred to Estonia. They will not be allowed to leave the prison and will be returned to Sweden at least one month before the end of their sentence.
About 300 people are currently being held in Tartu prison, and they will later be transferred to Tallinn and Viru prisons. The first Swedish prisoners are expected to be transferred to an Estonian prison in the first half of 2026.
Sweden will pay Estonia 30.6 million euros a year for 300 cell beds and an additional 8,500 euros a month for each additional prisoner. The fee will be indexed annually by 3.5 per cent. In Estonia, it costs between 3,500 and 5,000 euros per month to keep one prisoner.