Romanian justice minister reacts to Danish PM’s statements on prison conditions

The Romanian justice minister has reacted to what Danish prime minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen told the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, namely that the poor prison conditions in some foreign criminals’ home countries force other countries to house these criminals. The Danish prime minister said that national courts should be able to expel foreign criminals more easily. “It is simply not fair, that countries like Denmark end up housing foreign criminals, because of the poor prison conditions in their home countries,” the Danish PM said, according to Reuters. “We need a system that is tougher on countries that do not fulfill their human rights obligations.” In 2017, Denmark’s Supreme Court ruled that four Romanians accused in their home country of human trafficking could not be expelled because the conditions in Romanian prisons would violate their human rights. In his turn, Romanian justice minister Tudorel Toader said in a Facebook post that the Romanian authorities have had numerous meetings with those in Denmark on prison conditions, during which it was was agreed that Romania would guarantee in writing the appropriate conditions of detention for those who would be extradited. “In 2017 I had three meetings with the minister of justice in Denmark, two meetings with the Ambassador of Denmark in Bucharest, and two parliamentary delegations from Denmark visited Romania on the same topic! Every time we have agreed that we will provide written guarantees for detention under proper conditions, and that they will send us a written request to that effect! I now wonder why the authorities in Denmark prefer critical attitudes towards Romania instead of asking us in writing, as we have agreed?” the Romanian justice minister said. He posted yet another Facebook message on Thursday, January 25, which said: “There are many who think they know it all! Returning Romanian citizens detained in foreign prisons can be made under a written guarantee ensuring detention in spaces corresponding to European standards!” Earlier this month, the Romanian government approved the 2018-2024 calendar of measures to resolve prison overcrowding and prison conditions. The documentincludes several possible solutions for prison overcrowding in the country, including an electronic monitoring system and the construction of more accommodation places for inmates. A new law that provides a 6-day sentence reduction for each 30 days a detainee spends in improper conditions came into force in Romania last fall. Over 1,200 inmates benefited from the new law in the first month, according to data from the Federation of Trade Unions in the National Administration of Penitentiaries (ANP).