Kosovan and Swiss prisoners are to be allowed to serve their sentences in their respective homelands, the cabinet has decided.

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.

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative