"Unlike the existing procedures, the agreement stipulates that the costs of transferring convicted individuals will be covered by the country of conviction," Justice Minister Juozas Bernatonis said at the parliament on Tuesday in his presentation of the agreement.
According to information he provided, 150 Lithuanian citizens are held in prisons in Norway, including 66 who are serving sentences. Meanwhile only four Norwegian nationals are serving sentences in Lithuania at the moment.
In the minister's words, the new agreement will accelerate the dispatch of convicted individuals to their home country.
"I believe the state should take care of its citizens and allow them to serve sentences in its territory, thus bringing them closer to families and allowing better conditions for social rehabilitation," Bernatonis said.
He said Lithuanians feel particularly bad in Norwegian prisons due the fact that they do not speak any foreign language.
Signed in Oslo on April 5, 2011, the agreement stipulates rules for countries to recognize verdicts and execute sentences.
Bernatonis emphasized that consent of the convicted individual is mandatory for the transfer.
