In what is described as an open letter, Swedish prisoners at Tartu Prison in Estonia criticize their conditions there. The letter was published by Kriminalvårdsmagasinet.
Deficiencies are described in areas including food, work and hygiene, as well as perceived racism, with white and dark-skinned prisoners allegedly treated differently.
The letter also emphasizes that those sent to Estonia are inmates who behaved well in Swedish prisons.
Slow start
According to the Swedish Prison and Probation Service, 41 Swedish inmates have so far been transferred to the Estonian prison.
The start was slow, with Estonian authorities stopping many of those Sweden had intended to transfer. Since September, they have formally denied permission, according to the Swedish Prison and Probation Service.
But fewer people can still be transferred to Estonia than planned.
It is unclear how widespread dissatisfaction is among the Swedish inmates who have been taken to Tartu. It is also unclear how many people are behind the open letter, which is not signed by name but only by “some of the inmates at Tartu prison.”
Specifically, the prisoners’ comments include a lack of daily activities, too few showers, thin mattresses and being locked in their cells twice a day, at lunch and dinner.
“In which institutions in Sweden does this occur?” they ask in the letter.
"We want to be heard, we are not looking for sympathy. We have committed crimes in Sweden, and we should have the same rights and conditions as you get in a Swedish prison," they continue.
“Equal rights”
The Swedish Prison and Probation Service says it has received complaints from "a few" inmates about the issues raised in the letter.
We have handled the parts of these issues that the Swedish Prison and Probation Service can investigate or do something about, says Niklas Bellström, head of unit at the Swedish Prison and Probation Service.
The overall picture, however, is that the prison is operating well, according to Bellström, who visited it himself last week.
The inmates I spoke to also felt that there were things that needed improvement, especially regarding the food, but they also said that they were satisfied overall and even that they did not want to go back to a Swedish institution, says Bellström.
Sweden signed the agreement to rent prison places from Estonia because of a shortage of places in Swedish prisons.
The prison was built in the early 2000s and has space for 933 inmates.
Sweden has signed an agreement with Estonia to place up to 600 inmates in Tartu.
The goal is to have all places filled by next summer.
Under the agreement with Sweden, those being transferred must not be gang criminals, have misbehaved or pose security risks.
Sweden pays 8,500 euros per month per inmate, with a minimum of 300 inmates per year, which means a minimum annual cost of just over 330 million kronor.
In Sweden, the cost per inmate per month is just over 11,000 euros.
The first transport of prisoners to Estonia took place on August 18.
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