Kosovan and Swiss prisoners are to be allowed to serve their sentences in their respective homelands, the cabinet has decided.
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The government said on Friday that it had approved a bilateral treaty with Kosovo on the issue which is now open for signature.
In certain cases the accord allows for a transfer against the will of the person involved, but does not provide for automatic transfers, a Federal Justice Office statement explained.
Prisoners would only be sent to their homeland if they have committed a criminal offence that is punishable in both Switzerland and Kosovo, it added. Both countries have to agree and are not obliged to rubber stamp a decision.
The treaty should help Switzerland decrease the number of foreign prisoners in its jails, according to the statement. Serving a sentence in their homelands also makes it easier for prisoners to reintegrate into society afterwards, it said.
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On February 17, 2008, the former Serbian province of Kosovo declared its independence. The Swiss government was one of the first to recognise Kosovo as an independent state. Ethnic Albanians make up 92 per cent of the population of 2.2 million, but Serbs still dominate the north of the country.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
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