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Estonia has rejected more than half of the Swedish prisoners initially proposed for transfer to a prison in Tartu, citing links to organized crime and concerns about radicalization. The first Swedish prisoners nevertheless arrived in Estonia on Tuesday, August 18th, marking the start of the controversial cross-border prison arrangement.

The first group of Swedish prisoners was flown across the Baltic Sea to Tartu on Tuesday as Sweden began using prison capacity in Estonia to ease pressure on its overcrowded correctional system.

But according to information obtained by Expressen and the Estonian news site Delfi, Estonian authorities have rejected 20 of the 37 prisoners on Sweden’s initial list. The stated reasons include “obvious links to organized crime” or a risk of radicalization.

Estonian Justice Minister Liisa Pakosta confirmed to state broadcaster SVT that more than half of those on the first list had been excluded.

“When we received the first list, we assessed that more than half of them had not committed the crime alone but had been part of gangs,” Pakosta said.

The agreement between Sweden and Estonia allows Estonia to refuse certain prisoners. The Estonian government has previously said that gang criminals will not be accepted, amid domestic criticism of the arrangement.

Swedish Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer (Moderates) said the rejections were not particularly dramatic and described the first transfer as an important step in establishing the system.

“According to the agreement, they have the possibility to say no,” Strömmer told SVT. He said the early stages of the cooperation would involve adjusting the process, including agreeing on which prisoners should be transferred.

Under the agreement, Estonia is expected to receive up to 600 Swedish prisoners. The arrangement is intended to address an acute shortage of prison places in Sweden as the number of inmates continues to rise.

Estonia is expected to house around 100 Swedish prisoners at the Tartu prison by the end of September, with about 200 expected to be transferred by the end of the year.

The arrangement remains controversial in Estonia. A poll conducted this summer found that 54% of Estonians were either opposed to or uncertain about the agreement.

Original article: europeanconservative.com