ICELAND DEPORTS FOREIGN PRISONERS. THE DEBATE INTENSIFIES
- Roman Pech
- před 1 dnem
- Minut čtení: 4
Iceland has begun using a new system allowing some foreign prisoners to be released early and deported from the country. The measure is intended to ease pressure on overcrowded prisons, but it has also raised questions about public safety and fairness.
A new way to free up prison places
Icelandic prisons have long struggled with limited capacity, and the government is looking for ways to make better use of the available space. One of the solutions introduced this year is the early release of certain foreign prisoners followed by their deportation.
Under the new rules, foreign prisoners can apply for parole after serving one third of their sentence, rather than the previous half. The measure is temporary and is currently scheduled to remain in effect until July 1, 2027.
This does not mean that every foreign prisoner is automatically released. Each case is assessed individually, and deportation and a ban on returning to Iceland follow.
According to figures published by RÚV, more than 20 foreign prisoners had been released and subsequently deported from Iceland by mid-August. One of them was a man convicted of murder.
The case of murderer Angjelin Sterkaj
The most prominent case in recent weeks has been that of Angjelin Sterkaj, who was convicted of murder in Iceland.
After his deportation, Minister of Justice Þorbjörg Sigríður Gunnlaugsdóttir said that Iceland was now safer. In her view, removing a convicted murderer from the country was an important step toward protecting Icelandic society.
The case has once again raised the question of whether Iceland should keep foreign criminals in its prisons until they have served their entire sentences, or whether it is more effective to send them back to their countries of origin.
In 2021, Sterkaj shot Albanian citizen Armando Beqirai outside his home in Reykjavík. He confessed to the murder but claimed that he had acted in self-defense. The court rejected his account and ruled that the attack had been planned. Investigators linked the case to personal disputes and connections to organized crime.
Why is Iceland deporting foreign prisoners?
There are several reasons.
The first is prison capacity. Iceland is a small country and its prison system has very limited capacity compared with larger European countries.
The second is the fact that a person who does not have the right to remain in Iceland can be deported after serving their sentence anyway. The government therefore argues that it is not always necessary for such a person to spend the entire sentence in an Icelandic prison.
The third factor is cost. Every additional prisoner means expenses for accommodation, food, healthcare and prison staff.
The new system therefore combines two measures: early release and removal from the country.
It is not only about prisons
The debate is taking place within a broader discussion about Iceland's immigration policy.
Parliament has also been considering proposals concerning so-called departure centres, where foreigners could be held before deportation. The issue has become increasingly politically sensitive as Iceland seeks to develop a system allowing people who have no right to remain in the country to be removed more efficiently.
The situation is particularly sensitive when it comes to convicted foreign criminals. It is no longer simply an immigration issue, but also a matter of criminal justice and public safety.
What happens after deportation?
A key part of the system is that deported prisoners are not allowed to return to Iceland.
The entry ban is an important element of the policy. If a deported person attempts to return to Iceland, they may face further legal consequences.
Iceland is therefore trying to separate two issues that have traditionally been dealt with together: the serving of a prison sentence and the right to remain in the country.
A person may be sentenced by an Icelandic court but still have no right to remain in Iceland after their release.
Critics question whether this is really a solution
The new system has also attracted criticism.
One of the main questions is whether it is fair to release a foreign prisoner earlier simply because they are a foreign national, while an Icelandic citizen serving the same sentence would remain in prison longer.
Supporters of the system, however, argue that a foreign prisoner without the right to reside in Iceland would eventually be removed from the country anyway. Early deportation can therefore, in their view, free up prison space, reduce costs and prevent dangerous offenders from returning to Iceland.
The debate is therefore no longer simply about whether foreign prisoners should be deported. Increasingly, the question is when they should be deported and how much of their sentence they must actually serve in Iceland.
A small country facing a big question
Iceland is changing. A country long known for very low crime rates and a relatively closed society is now dealing with issues that have been common in much larger European countries for decades.
The treatment of foreign prisoners is one of them.
More than twenty deported prisoners are so far the first concrete result of the new system. The measure is currently scheduled to remain in place until the summer of 2027, and the coming months will show whether a temporary solution becomes a permanent part of Iceland's criminal justice and immigration policy.
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